Debris removal from high aspect structures

ABSTRACT

A debris collection and metrology system for collecting and analyzing debris from a tip used in nanomachining processes, the system including an irradiation source, an irradiation detector, an actuator, and a controller. The irradiation source is operable to direct incident irradiation onto the tip, and the irradiation detector is operable to receive a sample irradiation from the tip, the sample irradiation being generated as a result of the direct incident irradiation being applied onto the tip. The controller is operatively coupled to an actuator system and the irradiation detector, and the controller is operable to receive a first signal based on a first response of the irradiation detector to the sample irradiation, and the controller is operable to effect relative motion between the tip and at least one of the irradiation source and the irradiation detector based on the first signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation-in-part application and claimsthe priority benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/011,411 filed on Jan. 29, 2016, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/193,725 filed on Feb. 28, 2014,which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/652,114filed on Oct. 15, 2012 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,696,818), which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/898,836 filed onSep. 17, 2007 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,287,653), all of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to nanomachining processes.More particularly, the present disclosure relates to debris removalduring and/or after to nanomachining processes. In addition, the debrisremoval processes of the present disclosure can be applied to removal ofanything foreign to a substrate.

BACKGROUND

Nanomachining, by definition, involves mechanically removingnanometer-scaled volumes of material from, for example, aphotolithography mask, a semiconductor substrate/wafer, or any surfaceon which scanning probe microscopy (SPM) can be performed. For thepurposes of this discussion, “substrate” will refer to any object uponwhich nanomachining may be performed.

Examples of photolithography masks include: standard photomasks (193 nmwavelength, with or without immersion), next generation lithography mask(imprint, directed self-assembly, etc.), extreme ultraviolet lithographyphotomasks (EUV or EUVL), and any other viable or useful masktechnology. Examples of other surfaces which are considered substratesare membranes, pellicle films, micro-electronic/nano-electronicmechanical systems MEMS/NEMS. Use of the terms, “mask”, or “substrate”in the present disclosure include the above examples, although it willbe appreciated by one skilled in the art that other photomasks orsurfaces may also be applicable.

Nanomachining in the related art may be performed by applying forces toa surface of a substrate with a tip (e.g., a diamond cutting bit) thatis positioned on a cantilever arm of an atomic force microscope (AFM).More specifically, the tip may first be inserted into the surface of thesubstrate, and then the tip may be dragged through the substrate in aplane that is parallel to the surface (i.e., the xy-plane). This resultsin displacement and/or removal of material from the substrate as the tipis dragged along.

As a result of this nanomachining, debris (which includes anythingforeign to the substrate surface) is generated on the substrate. Morespecifically, small particles may form during the nanomachining processas material is removed from the substrate. These particles, in someinstances, remain on the substrate once the nanomachining process iscomplete. Such particles are often found, for example, in trenchesand/or cavities present on the substrate.

In order to remove debris, particles or anything foreign to thesubstrate, particularly in high-aspect photolithography mask structuresand electronic circuitry; wet cleaning techniques have been used. Morespecifically, the use of chemicals in a liquid state and/or agitation ofthe overall mask or circuitry may be employed. However, both chemicalmethods and agitation methods such as, for example, megasonic agitation,can adversely alter or destroy both high-aspect ratio structures andmask optical proximity correction features (i.e., features that aregenerally so small that these features do not image, but rather formdiffraction patterns that are used beneficially by mask designers toform patterns).

In order to better understand why high-aspect shapes and structures areparticularly susceptible to being destroyed by chemicals and agitation;one has to recall that such shapes and structures, by definition,include large amounts of surface area and are therefore verythermodynamically unstable. As such, these shapes and structures arehighly susceptible to delamination and/or other forms of destructionwhen chemical and/or mechanical energy is applied.

It is important to note that in imprint lithography and EUV (or EUVL)that use of a pellicle to keep particles off the lithographic surfacebeing copied is currently not feasible. Technologies that cannot usepellicles are generally more susceptible to failure by particlecontamination which blocks the ability to transfer the pattern to thewafer. Pellicles are in development for EUV masks, but as priorexperience with DUV pellicle masks indicates, the use of a pellicle onlymitigates (but does not entirely prevent) critical particle and othercontaminates from falling on the surface and any subsequent exposure tothe high-energy photons will tend to fix these particles to the masksurface with a greater degree of adhesion. In addition, thesetechnologies may be implemented with smaller feature sizes (1 to 300nm), making them more susceptible to damage during standard wet cleanpractices which may typically be used. In the specific case of EUV orEUVL, the technology may require the substrate be in a vacuumenvironment during use and likely during storage awaiting use. In orderto use standard wet clean technologies, this vacuum would have to bebroken which could easily lead to further particle contamination.

Other currently available methods for removing debris from a substratemake use of cryogenic cleaning systems and techniques. For example, thesubstrate containing the high-aspect shapes and/or structures may beeffectively “sandblasted” using carbon dioxide particles instead ofsand.

However, even cryogenic cleaning systems and processes in the relatedart are also known to adversely alter or destroy high-aspect features.In addition, cryogenic cleaning processes affect a relatively large areaof a substrate (e.g., treated areas may be approximately 10 millimetersacross or more in order to clean debris with dimensions on the order ofnanometers). As a result, areas of the substrate that may not need tohave debris removed therefrom are nonetheless exposed to the cryogeniccleaning process and to the potential structure-destroying energiesassociated therewith. It is noted that there are numerous physicaldifferences between nano and micro regimes, for the purposes here, thefocus will be on the differences related to nanoparticle cleaningprocesses. There are many similarities between nano and macro scalecleaning processes, but there are also many critical differences. Forthe purposes of this disclosure, the common definition of the nanoscaleis of use: this defines a size range of 1 to 100 nm. This is ageneralized range since many of processes reviewed here may occur belowthis range (into atomic scales) and be able to affect particles largerthan this range (into the micro regime).

Some physical differences between macro and nano particle cleaningprocesses include transport related properties including: surface area,mean free path, thermal, and field-effects. The first two in this listare more relevant to the thermo-mechanical-chemical behavior ofparticles while the last one is more concerned with particleinteractions with electromagnetic fields. Thermal transport phenomenonintersects both of these regimes in that it is also thethermo-mechanical physical chemistry around particles and theinteraction of particles with electromagnetic fields in the infraredwavelength regime. To functionally demonstrate some of thesedifferences, a thought experiment example of a nanoparticle trapped atthe bottom of a high aspect line and space structure (70 nm deep and 40nm wide AR=1.75) is posited. In order to clean this particle withmacroscale processes, the energy required to remove the particle isapproximately the same as the energy required to damage features orpatterns on the substrate, thereby making it impossible to clean thehigh aspect line and space structure without damage. For macro-scalecleaning processes (Aqueous, Surfactant, Sonic Agitation, etc.), at theenergy level where the nanoparticle is removed, the surrounding featureor pattern is also damaged. If one has the technical capability tomanipulate nano-sharp (or nanoscale) structures accurately withinnano-distances to the nanoparticle, then one may apply the energy toclean the nanoparticle to the nanoparticle only. For nanoscale cleaningprocesses, the energy required to remove the nanoparticle is appliedonly to the nanoparticle and not the surrounding features or patterns onthe substrate.

First, looking at the surface area properties of particles, there aremathematical scaling differences which are obvious as a theoreticalparticle (modelled here as a perfect sphere) approaches the nanoscaleregime. The bulk properties of materials are gauged with the volume ofmaterials while the surface is gauged by the external area. For ahypothetical particle, its volume decreases inversely by the cube(3^(rd) power) while the surface area decreases by the square withrespect to the particle's diameter. This difference means that materialproperties which dominate the behavior of a particle at macro, and evenmicro, scale diameters become negligible into the nano regime (andsmaller). Examples of these properties include mass and inertialproperties of the particle, which is a critical consideration for somecleaning techniques such as sonic agitation or laser shock.

The next transport property examined here is the mean free path. Formacro to micro regimes, fluids (in both liquid, gaseous, and mixedstates) can be accurately modelled in their behavior as continuum flow.When considering surfaces, such as the surface of an AFM tip and ananoparticle, that are separated by gaps on the nanoscale or smaller,these fluids can't be considered continuum. This means that fluids donot move according to classical flow models, but can be more accuratelyrelated to the ballistic atomic motion of a rarefied gas or even avacuum. For an average atom or molecule (approximately 0.3 nm indiameter) in a gas at standard temperature and pressure, the calculatedmean free path (i.e., distance in which a molecule will travel in astraight line before it will on average impact another atom or molecule)is approximately 94 nm, which is a large distance for an AFM scanningprobe. Since fluids are much denser than gasses, they will have muchsmaller mean free paths, but it must be noted that the mean free pathfor any fluid can't be less than the atom or molecule's diameter. If wecompare the assumed atom or molecule diameter of 0.3 nm given above tothe typical tip to surface mean separation distance during non-contactscanning mode which can be as small as 1 nm, thus except for the mostdense fluids, the fluid environment between an AFM tip apex and thesurface being scanned will behave in a range of fluid properties fromrarefied gas to near-vacuum. The observations in the prior review arecrucial to demonstrating that thermo-fluid processes behave infundamentally different ways when scaled from the macro to nano scale.This affects the mechanisms and kinetics of various process aspects suchas chemical reactions, removal of products such as loose particles tothe environment, charging or charge neutralization, and the transport ofheat or thermal energy.

The known thermal transport differences from macro and nano to sub-nanoscales has been found by studies using scanning thermal probemicroscopy. One early difference seen is that the transport rate ofthermal energy can be an order of magnitude less across nanoscaledistances than the macro scale. This is how scanning thermal probemicroscopy can work with a nano probe heated to a temperature differenceof sometimes hundreds of degrees with respect to a surface it isscanning in non-contact mode with tip to surface separations as small asthe nano or Angstrom scale. The reasons for this lower thermal transportare implied in the prior section about mean free path in fluids. Oneform of thermal transport, however, is enhanced which is blackbodyradiation. It has been experimentally shown that the Plank limit forblackbody spectral radiance at a given temperature can be exceeded atnanoscale distances. Thus, not only does the magnitude of thermaltransport decrease, but the primary type of transport, fromconduction/convection to blackbody which is in keeping with the rarefiedto vacuum fluid behavior, changes.

Differences in the interactions of fields (an electromagnetic field isthe primary intended example here due to its longer wavelengths comparedto other possible examples), for the purposes in this discussion, couldbe further sub-classified as wavelength related and other quantumeffects (in particular tunneling). At nanoscales, the behavior ofelectromagnetic fields between a source (envisioned here as the apex ofan AFM tip whether as the primary source or as a modification of arelatively far field source) and a surface will not be subject towavelength dependent diffraction limitations to resolution that farfield sources will experience. This behavior, commonly referred to asthe near-field optics, has been used with great success in scanningprobe technologies such as near field scanning optical microscopy(NSOM). Beyond applications in metrology, the near field behavior canaffect the electromagnetic interaction of all nanoscale sized objectsspaced nano-distances from each other. The next near-field behaviormentioned is quantum tunneling where a particle, in particular anelectron, can be transported across a barrier it could not classicallypenetrate. This phenomenon allows for energy transport by a means notseen at macro scales, and is used in scanning tunneling microscopy (STM)and some solid-state electronic devices. Finally, there are moreesoteric quantum effects often seen with (but not limited to)electromagnetic fields at nanoscales, such as proximity excitation andsensing of plasmonic resonances, however, it will be appreciated by oneskilled in the art that the current discussion gives a sufficientdemonstration of the fundamental differences between macro andnano-scale physical processes.

In the following, the term “surface energy” may be used to refer to thethermodynamic properties of surfaces which are available to perform work(in this case, the work of adhesion of debris to the surfaces of thesubstrate and the tip respectively). One way to classically calculatethis is the Gibb's free energy which is given as:G(p,T)=U+pV−TSwhere:

U=Internal Energy;

p=Pressure;

V=Volume;

T=Temperature; and

S=Entropy.

Since the current practice does not vary pressure, volume, andtemperature (although this does not need to be the case since theseparameters could equally be manipulated to get the desired effects aswell) they will not be discussed in detail. Thus, the only terms beingmanipulated in the equation above will be internal energy and entropy asdriving mechanisms in the methods discussed below. Entropy, since it isintended that the probe tip surface will be cleaner (i.e., no debris orunintended surface contaminates) than the substrate being cleaned isnaturally a thermodynamic driving mechanism to preferentiallycontaminate the tip surface over the substrate (and then subsequently,contaminate the cleaner pallet of soft material). The internal energy ismanipulated between the pallet, tip, debris, and substrate surfaces bythe thermophysical properties characterized by their respective surfaceenergies. One way to relate the differential surface energy to the Gibbsfree energy is to look at theoretical developments for the creepproperties of engineering materials at high temperatures (i.e., asignificant fraction of their melting point temperature) for a cylinderof radius r, and length l, under uniaxial tension P:dG=−P*dl+γ*dAwhere

γ=Surface energy density [J/m2]; and

A=Surface area [m2].

The observation that the stress and extrinsic surface energy of anobject are factors in its Gibbs free energy induces one to believe thesefactors (in addition to the surface energy density γ) could also bemanipulated to perform reversible preferential adhesion of the debris tothe tip (with respect to the substrate) and then subsequently the softpallet. Means to do this include applied stress (whether externally orinternally applied) and temperature. It should be noted that it isintended that the driving process will always result in a series ofsurface interactions with a net ΔG<0 in order to provide a differentialsurface energy gradient to preferentially decontaminate the substrateand subsequently preferentially contaminate the soft pallet. This couldbe considered analogous to a ball preferentially rolling down an inclineto a lower energy state (except that, here, the incline in thermodynamicsurface energy also includes the overall disorder in the whole system orentropy). FIG. 6 shows one possible set of surface interactions wherethe method described here could provide a down-hill thermodynamic Gibbsfree energy gradient to selectively remove a contaminate and selectivelydeposit it on a soft patch. This sequence is one of the theoreticalmechanisms thought to be responsible for the current practice aspectsusing low surface energy fluorocarbon materials with medium to lowsurface energy tip materials such as diamond.

SUMMARY

At least in view of the above, there is a desire for novel apparatusesand methods for removing debris, contaminates, particles or anythingforeign to the substrate surface, and in particular, novel apparatusesand methods capable of cleaning substrates with high aspect ratiostructures, photomask optical proximity correction features, etc.,without destroying such structures and/or features on a nanoscale.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a nano-scale metrologysystem for detecting contaminates is provided. The system includes ascanning probe microscopy (SPM) tip, an irradiation source, anirradiation detector, an actuator, and a controller. The irradiationsource is configured and arranged to direct an incident irradiation ontothe SPM tip. The irradiation detector is configured and arranged toreceive a sample irradiation from the SPM tip, the sample irradiationbeing caused by the incident irradiation. The actuator system isoperatively coupled to the nano-scale metrology system and configured toeffect relative motion between the SPM tip and at least one of theirradiation source and the irradiation detector. The controller isoperatively coupled to the actuator system and the irradiation detector,and the controller being configured to receive a first signal based on afirst response of the irradiation detector to the sample irradiation,and is configured to effect relative motion between the SPM tip and atleast one of the irradiation detector and the irradiation source via theactuator system based on the first signal.

In accordance with one aspect of the nano-scale metrology system in thepresent disclosure, the actuator system is operatively coupled to theSPM tip, and the actuator system includes a rotary actuator configuredto rotate the SPM tip about a first axis.

In accordance with one aspect of the nano-scale metrology system in thepresent disclosure, the irradiation source is an x-ray source, a laser,a visible light source, an infrared light source, an ultraviolet lightsource, or an electron beam source.

In accordance with one aspect of the nano-scale metrology system in thepresent disclosure, the controller is further configured to generate afirst frequency domain spectrum of the sample irradiation based on thefirst signal, generate a second frequency domain spectrum by subtractinga background frequency domain spectrum from the first frequency domainspectrum, and effect relative motion between the SPM tip and at leastone of the irradiation detector and the irradiation source via theactuator system based on the second frequency domain spectrum. Inaccordance with one aspect of the nano-scale metrology system in thepresent disclosure, the controller is further configured to generate thebackground frequency domain spectrum based on a response of theirradiation detector to irradiation of the SPM tip when the SPM tip issubstantially free from contamination.

In accordance with one aspect of the nano-scale metrology system in thepresent disclosure, the controller is further configured to receive asecond signal based on a second response of the irradiation detector tothe sample irradiation, and effect relative motion between the SPM tipand at least one of the irradiation detector and the irradiation sourcevia the actuator system based on a difference between the first signaland the second signal. In accordance with one aspect of the nano-scalemetrology system in the present disclosure, the controller is furtherconfigured to effect a magnitude of relative motion between the SPM tipand at least one of the irradiation detector and the irradiation sourcebased on the difference between the first signal and the second signal.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a metrology systemwith a collector is provided. The metrology system includes a collector,an irradiation source, an irradiation detector, a scanning probemicroscopy (SPM) tip, and an actuator system. The collector may have afirst internal edge on a first surface of the collector, a secondinternal edge on a second surface of the collector, the second surfacebeing opposite the first surface, and an internal surface extending fromthe first internal edge to the second internal edge, the internalsurface defining at least a portion of a collection pocket or acollection through-hole therein. The irradiation source is configuredand arranged to receive a sample irradiation from the internal surfaceof the collector, the sample irradiation being caused by the incidentirradiation. The actuator system is operatively coupled to the SPM tipand configured to move the SPM tip relative to the collector fortransfer of at least one particle or debris from the SPM tip to thecollector.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, a width of the collection through-hole increases along adirection through the collector from the first surface toward the secondsurface.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the first internal edge defines a rectangular outline of thecollection pocket or the collection through-hole. In accordance with oneaspect of the present disclosure, a length of each segment of therectangular outline is less than or equal to 10 mm.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the first internal edge defines a triangular outline of thecollection pocket or the collection through-hole. In accordance with oneaspect of the present disclosure, a length of each segment of thetriangular outline is less than or equal to 10 mm.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the first internal edge defines an arcuate cross section ofthe collection pocket or the collection through-hole, and the arcuatecross section is a circular, elliptical or oval outline. In accordancewith one aspect of the present disclosure, the first internal edgedefines a circular outline, and a diameter of the circular outline isless than or equal to 10 mm.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the metrology system further includes a controlleroperatively coupled to the actuator system, the controller beingconfigured to transfer a particle from the SPM tip to the collectionpocket or the collection through-hole of the collector by dragging theSPM tip against the first internal edge.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the internal surface of the collector forms a through-holepassage. In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, thethrough-hole passage is a truncated tetrahedron passage, a truncatedconical passage, a truncated tetrahedral passage, or a truncatedpyramidal passage.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the SPM tip includes a tetrahedral shape, a conical shape,or a pyramidal shape.

In accordance with one aspect of the metrology system in the presentdisclosure, the collection pocket or the collection through-hole isremovably mounted to the metrology system.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a particle collectionand metrology system is provided. The particle collection and metrologysystem includes a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tip, a stageconfigured to support a substrate, an actuation system, an irradiationsource, an irradiation detector, and a controller. The actuation systemis operatively coupled to the stage and the SPM tip, the actuationsystem being configured to move the SPM tip relative to the stage. Theirradiation source is in optical communication with a metrologylocation, and the irradiation detector is in optical communication withthe metrology location. The controller is operatively coupled to theactuation system, the irradiation source, and the irradiation detector.The controller is further configured to move the SPM tip from a locationproximate to the substrate to the metrology location, and to receive afirst signal from the irradiation detector indicative of a response ofthe irradiation detector to a first sample irradiation from themetrology location, the first sample irradiation being caused by a firstincident irradiation from the irradiation source.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the metrology location is disposed onat least a portion of the SPM tip, and the controller is furtherconfigured to cause the first sample irradiation by irradiating themetrology location with the first incident irradiation.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the particle collection and metrologysystem further includes a particle collector, the metrology locationbeing disposed on at least a portion of the particle collector. Thecontroller is further configured to cause the first sample irradiationby irradiating the metrology location with the first incidentirradiation.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the controller is further configuredto transfer a particle from the substrate to the metrology location viathe SPM tip.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the particle collection and metrologysystem further includes a patch of a material, the material having asurface energy that is lower than a surface energy of the substrate,wherein the SPM tip includes a nanometer-scaled coating of the materialthereon.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the controller is further configuredto effect contact between the SPM tip and the patch, thereby coating theSPM tip with the material.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the actuation system includes a tipactuation system operatively coupled to the SPM tip and a stageactuation system operatively coupled to the stage. The tip actuationsystem is configured to move the SPM tip relative to a base, and thestage actuation system is configured to move the stage relative to thebase.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the particle collector is a collectionpocket or a collection through-hole. The particle collector includes atleast a first internal edge. The at least first internal edge definesone of a triangular, rectangular, circular, elliptical, or oval outline.In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, the firstinternal edge defines a triangular or rectangular outline, and whereineach segment of the triangular or rectangular outline includes a lengthof less than or equal to 10 mm. In accordance with one aspect of thepresent disclosure, the first internal edge defines a circular outline,and a diameter of the circular outline is less than or equal to 10 mm.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, particle collector includes a firstinternal edge on a first surface of the collector, a second internaledge on a second surface of the collector, the second surface beingopposite the first surface, and an internal surface extending from thefirst internal edge to the second internal. In accordance with oneaspect of the present disclosure, the internal surface forms athrough-hole passage. The through-hole passage is a truncatedtetrahedron passage, truncated conical passage, or a truncated pyramidalpassage.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the SPM tip includes a tetrahedralshape, a conical shape, or a pyramidal shape.

In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection and metrologysystem in the present disclosure, the patch is removably mounted to thestage. In accordance with one aspect of the particle collection andmetrology system in the present disclosure, the collection pocket or thecollection through-hole is removably mounted to the stage.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofdetermining a composition of a particle using a scanning probemicroscopy (SPM) tip is provided. The method includes transferring theparticle to the SPM tip; irradiating the SPM tip with a first incidentirradiation from an irradiation source; detecting a first sampleirradiation caused by the first incident irradiation with an irradiationdetector; and effecting relative motion between the SPM tip and at leastone of the irradiation source and the irradiation detector based on afirst signal from the irradiation detector in response to the firstsample irradiation.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the method further includesgenerating a first frequency domain spectrum of the first sampleirradiation based on the first signal; generating a second frequencydomain spectrum by subtracting a background frequency domain spectrumfrom the first frequency domain spectrum; and effecting relative motionbetween the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiation source and theirradiation detector based on the second frequency domain spectrum.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the method further includesgenerating the background frequency domain spectrum based on a responseof the irradiation detector to irradiation of the SPM tip when the SPMtip is substantially free from contamination.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the method further includesirradiating the SPM tip with a second incident irradiation from theirradiation source; detecting a second sample irradiation caused by thesecond incident irradiation with the irradiation detector; and effectingrelative motion between the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiationsource and the irradiation detector based on a second signal from theirradiation detector in response to the second sample irradiation.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the method further includeseffecting relative motion between the SPM tip and at least one of theirradiation source and the irradiation detector based on a differencebetween the second signal and the first signal.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the first incidentirradiation from the irradiation source is at least one of an x-ray,visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, an electron beam, anda laser. In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the second incidentirradiation from the irradiation source is at least one of an x-ray,visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, an electron beam, anda laser. The second incident irradiation is a different type ofirradiation than the first incident irradiation. In one aspect, thefirst sample irradiation is generated by the first incident irradiationinteracting with the SPM tip. In one aspect, the interacting may includeone or more of the first incident irradiation being reflected,refracted, or absorbed and re-emitted by the SPM tip. In one aspect, thefirst sample irradiation is generated by the first incident irradiationinteracting with debris disposed on the SPM tip. In one aspect, theinteracting may include one or more of the first incident irradiationbeing reflected, refracted, or absorbed and re-emitted by debrisdisposed on the SPM tip.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle on the SPM tip, the method further includesadjusting an intensity or frequency of the first incident irradiationfrom the irradiation source. In one aspect, the method further includesadjusting an intensity or frequency of the second incident irradiationfrom the irradiation source.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method fordetermining a composition of a particle removed from a substrate isprovided. The method includes transferring a particle from the substrateto a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tip; irradiating the particle witha first incident irradiation from an irradiation source; and receiving afirst sample irradiation from the particle at an irradiation detector,the first sample irradiation being caused by the first incidentirradiation.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle removed from the substrate, the first sampleirradiation from the particle is received by the irradiation detectorwhile the particle is disposed on the SPM tip.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle removed from the substrate, the transferringof the particle from the substrate to the SPM tip includes contactingthe SPM tip against the substrate and moving the SPM tip relative to thesubstrate.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle removed from the substrate, the methodfurther comprises transferring the particle to a metrology locationusing the SPM tip.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle removed from the substrate, the methodfurther includes transferring the particle from the SPM tip to aparticle collector with a metrology location defined on the particlecollector. The first sample irradiation from the particle is received bythe irradiation detector while the particle is disposed on the metrologylocation. The transferring of the particle from the SPM tip to theparticle collector includes contacting the SPM tip against the metrologylocation and moving the SPM tip relative to the metrology location.

In accordance with an aspect of the method for determining thecomposition of the particle removed from the substrate, the particlecollector is a collection pocket or collection through-hole includes atleast one contaminate collection edge, and the transferring of theparticle from the SPM tip to the particle collector includes maneuveringthe SPM tip to brush against or drag against the at least onecontaminate collection edge. In accordance with one aspect, themaneuvering includes moving the SPM tip towards and then away from theat least one contaminate collection edge. In one aspect, the moving ofthe SPM tip may include a scraping and/or wiping motion. In accordancewith one aspect, the maneuvering includes moving the SPM tip upward pastthe at least one contaminate collection edge, and the maneuveringfurther includes moving the SPM tip downward past the at least onecontaminate collection edge. In accordance with one aspect, themaneuvering includes moving the SPM tip upwards and away from a centerof the particle collector. In accordance with one aspect, themaneuvering includes moving the SPM downwards and towards a center ofthe particle collector. In accordance with one aspect, the maneuveringincludes moving the SPM tip in a parabolic trajectory. In accordancewith one aspect, the maneuvering further includes rotating the SPM tipto enable debris deposited on a different portion of the SPM tip to betransferred from the SPM tip to the particle collector.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, an article ofmanufacture comprising non-transient machine-readable media encodinginstructions thereon for causing a processor to determine a compositionof a particle on a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is provided. Theencoding instructions of the article of manufacture may be used toperform steps of detecting a first sample irradiation with anirradiation detector, the first sample irradiation being in response toa first incident irradiation from an irradiation source; and effectingrelative motion between the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiationsource and the irradiation detector based on a first signal from theirradiation detector in response to the first sample irradiation.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain aspects of theinvention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may bebetter understood, and in order that the present contribution to the artmay be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional aspects ofthe invention that will be described below and which will form thesubject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining the various aspects of the presentdisclosure in greater detail, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited in its application to the details of construction and tothe arrangements of the components set forth in the followingdescription or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable ofembodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced andcarried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that thephraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract,are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conceptionupon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present disclosure. Therefore, that theclaims should be regarded as including such equivalent constructionsinsofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A to 1C illustrate cross-sectional views of a portion of a debrisremoval device during a sequence of surface interactions in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of a debrisremoval device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of another portion of thedebris removal device illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the portion of the debrisremoval device illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein particles are beingimbedded in the patch or reservoir of low energy material.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the portion of the debrisremoval device illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein the tip is no longer incontact with the patch or reservoir of low energy material.

FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a tip with bristles orfibrils in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrates the general differences between a stifffibril and a wrap fibril in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate a process of dislodging and removing ananoparticle from a target substrate using a single stiff fibril inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9A to 9C illustrate a process of dislodging and removing ananoparticle from a target substrate using a plurality of stiff fibrilsin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10A to 10C illustrate a process of removing a nanoparticle from atarget substrate using a single wrap fibril in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIGS. 11A to 11D illustrate e process of removing a nanoparticle from atarget substrate using a plurality of wrap fibrils in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection apparatusincluding at least one patch in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection apparatusincluding at least two patches in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection apparatusincluding a controller in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection apparatusincluding a metrology system in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection apparatusincluding a metrology system and a controller in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of adebris collection apparatus including a metrology apparatus inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of adebris collection apparatus including a metrology apparatus and acontroller in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of adebris collection apparatus including a metrology apparatus and aplurality of patches and/or debris collectors in accordance with aspectsof the present disclosure.

FIGS. 20A and 20B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of adebris collection apparatus including a metrology apparatus with acontroller and a plurality of patches and/or debris collectors inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of adebris collection apparatus including a robotic arm in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of thedebris collection apparatus of FIGS. 21A and 21B with the robotic arm ina second position.

FIGS. 23A and 23B illustrate a top and a side view, respectively, of atip support assembly in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 24A and 24B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofa metrology system usable with a tetrahedral tip in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 25A and 25B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofthe metrology system of FIGS. 24A and 24B with debris attached to thetetrahedral tip.

FIGS. 26A and 26B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofa metrology system usable with a circular conical tip in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 27A and 27B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofthe metrology system of FIGS. 26A and 26B with debris attached to thecircular conical tip.

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofa metrology system usable with a pyramidal tip in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 29A and 29B illustrate a bottom and a side view, respectively, ofthe metrology system of FIGS. 28A and 28B with debris attached to thepyramidal tip.

FIGS. 30A and 30B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection pocket havinga triangular layout in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 31A and 31B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection pocket havinga circular layout in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 32A and 32B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection pocket havinga square layout in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 33A to 33C illustrate an exemplary debris collection process usinga contaminate collector with a collection pocket in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 34A to 34C illustrate another exemplary debris collection processusing a contaminate collector with a collection pocket in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 35A and 35B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection through-holedefining a truncated tetrahedron passage in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 36A and 36B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection through-holedefining a truncated conical passage in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 37A and 37B illustrate a side cross-sectional view and a top view,respectively, of a contaminate collector with a collection through-holedefining a truncated pyramidal passage in accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 38 illustrates a side cross-sectional view of a contaminatecollector with a collection through-hole and a metrology system inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The inventive aspects will now be described with reference to thedrawing figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like partsthroughout.

With reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, 1C, 2, 3, 4, and 5, an exemplary devicefor removing particles from a substrate and transferring it to a patchwill now be described. FIGS. 1A to 1C illustrate cross-sectional viewsof a portion of a debris removal device 1 during a sequence of surfaceinteractions in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Apotential sequence of surface interactions that could selectively adherea particle 2 from a and then relocate it to a soft patch 4 is shown infigures (moving from left to right). In FIG. 1A, a particle 2contaminates a (relatively) high surface energy substrate 3 whichdecreases its surface energy and increases the entropy in the wholesystem. Next in FIG. 1B, a tip 5 with a diffusively mobile low surfaceenergy coating is then driven to coat the (once again relatively) highersurface energy substrate 3 and particle 2, debonding them. Subsequently,the depletion of the low surface energy material may have slightlyincreased the surface energy of the tip 5 (closer to its normal,uncoated value) so that there is an energy gradient to adhere the nowde-bonded particle 2 to a surface of the tip 6 (additionally, materialssuch a fluorocarbons typically have good cohesion). These interactionsshould also increase the entropy of the system especially if the tipsurface 6 is cleaner than the substrate. Finally, in FIG. 1C, theparticle 2 is mechanically lodged into the soft patch material 4 andthis mechanical action also recoats the tip surface 6 with the lowsurface energy material which should both decrease the energy andincrease the entropy of the system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a portion of a debrisremoval device 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.The device 10 includes a nanometer-scaled tip 12 positioned adjacent toa patch or reservoir 14 of low surface energy material. The low surfaceenergy material in the reservoir may be solid, liquid, semi-liquid orsemi-solid.

Formed on the tip 12 is a coating 16. Before forming the coating 16, tip12 may be pre-coated or otherwise surface treated to modify the surfaceenergy of the tip 12 (e.g., to modify the capillary, wetting, and/orsurface tension effects). When properly selected, the coating 16 allowsthe tip 12 to remain sharper for a longer period of time than anuncoated tip. For example, a PTFE-coated diamond tip can have a longeroperating life than an uncoated diamond tip.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the coating 16may include the same low surface energy material found in the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14. Also, according to certain aspectsof the present disclosure, the tip 12 may be in direct contact with thepatch or reservoir of low energy material 14 and the coating 16 may beformed (or replenished) on the surface of tip 12 by rubbing orcontacting the tip 12 against the patch or reservoir of low energymaterial 14. Furthermore, rubbing the tip 12 against the patch orreservoir of low energy material and/or scratching the pad 14 mayenhance surface diffusion of the low surface energy material over thesurface of tip 12.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the coating 16and the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14 may both be madefrom, or at least may include, chlorinated and fluorinatedcarbon-containing molecules such as Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) orother similar materials such as Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP).According to other aspects of the present disclosure, an intermediatelayer 15 of metallic material, oxide, metal oxide, or some other highsurface energy material may be disposed between the surface of tip 12and the low-surface energy material coating 16. Some representativeexamples of the intermediate layer may include, but is not limited to,cesium (Cs), iridium (Ir), and their oxides (as well as chlorides,fluorides, etc.). These two exemplary elemental metals are relativelysoft metals with low and high surface energies respectively, and thusthey represent the optimization of a surface energy gradient optimal fora given contaminate, substrate, and surrounding environment.Additionally or alternatively, the surface of tip 12 may be roughened ordoped. The high surface energy material or tip treatment typically actsto bind the low-surface energy material coating 16 to the tip 12 morestrongly. Since the shape of the tip also influences localized surfaceenergy density variations (i.e., nanoscale sharpness will greatlyincrease surface energy density right at the apex), the shape of the tip12 may also be modified to provide increased selective adhesion ofparticles to the tip. Roughening a tip surface 13 of the tip 12 may alsoprovide greater adhesion due to the increase in surface area of contactwith the particle and the number of potential binding sites (dA). Thetip surface 13 may also be treated (possibly by chemical or plasmaprocesses) so that the tip surface 13 contains highly unstable andchemically active dangling bonds that can react with a particle or someintermediary coating to increase adhesion. The tip surface 13 may alsobe coated with a high surface area material like high density carbon(HDC) or diamond like carbon (DLC) to increase the surface area of thetip 12 interacting with a particle.

A high-surface energy pre-treatment is used without a low-surface energycoating 16 according to certain aspects of the present disclosure. Insuch aspects, the particles 20 discussed below may be embedded in someother soft targets (e.g., Au, Al) using similar methods to thosediscussed herein, or the tip 12 may be a consumable. Also, otherphysical and/or environmental parameters may be modified (e.g.,temperature, pressure, chemistry, humidity) to enhance tip treatmentand/or particle pick-up/drop-off as will be appreciated by one skilledin the art in view of the present disclosure.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, all of thecomponents illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 are included in an AFM. In somesuch configurations, the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14 issubstantially flat and is attached to a stage that supports thesubstrate 18. Also, according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14 isremovable from the stage and may easily be replaced or easilyrefillable. For example, the patch or reservoir of low energy material14 may be affixed to the AFM with an easily releasable clamp or magneticmount (not illustrated).

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of another portion of thedebris removal device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2. Illustrated in FIG. 3 isa substrate 18 that may typically be positioned adjacent to the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14 illustrated in FIG. 2. Alsoillustrated in FIG. 3 is a plurality of particles 20 that may present ina trench 22 that is formed on the surface of the substrate 18. Theparticles 20 are typically attached to the surfaces of the trench 22 viaVan der Waals short-range forces. In FIG. 3, the tip 12 may be moved andpositioned adjacent to the substrate 18 to physically attach theparticles 20 to the tip 12. In order to reach the bottom of the trench22, the tip 12 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be a high aspectratio tip. Although a trench 22 is illustrated in FIG. 3, the particles20 may be attached to or found on other structures to be cleaned.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the portion of the debrisremoval device 10 illustrated in FIG. 2, wherein the particles 20 may betransferred from the tip 12 and may be imbedded in the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14 by extending the tip 12 into oragainst a surface of the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14.Subsequently, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5, the tip 12may be retracted such that the tip 12 is no longer in contact with thepatch or reservoir of low energy material 14. As the tip 12 is retractedor withdrawn from the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14, theparticles 20 previously on the tip 12 remain with the patch or reservoirof low energy material 14.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the device 10illustrated in FIGS. 2-5 may be utilized to implement a method of debrisremoval. It should be noted that certain aspects of the presentdisclosure may be used in conjunction with other particle cleaningprocesses, either prior or pursuant to the method discussed herein.Further it should be noted that the terms particle, debris, orcontaminate may be used interchangeable to describe anything foreign tothe substrate surface. It should also be noted that, although only onetip 12 is discussed and shown in the figures, a plurality of tips may beused simultaneously to remove particles from multiple structures at thesame time. Additionally, a plurality of tips could be used in themethods discussed herein in parallel and at the same time.

The debris method mentioned above may include positioning the tip 12adjacent to one or more of the particles 20 (i.e., the pieces of debris)illustrated as being on the substrate 18 in FIG. 3. The method mayfurther include physically adhering (as opposed to electrostaticallyadhering) the particles 20 to the tip 12 as also illustrated in FIG. 3as well as some possible repetitive motion of the tip 12 when in contactwith the particle(s) 20 and surrounding surfaces. Following the physicaladherence of the particles 20 to the tip 12, the method may includeremoving the particles 20 from the substrate 18 by moving and/orwithdrawing the tip 12 away from the substrate 18, and moving the tip 12with the particles 20 to the patch or reservoir of low energy material14, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the method mayinclude forming the coating 16 on at least a portion of the tip 12. Incertain aspects of the present disclosure, the coating 16 may comprise acoating material that has a lower surface energy than a surface energyof the substrate 18. Additionally or alternatively, the coating 16 maycomprise a coating material that has higher surface area than thesurface area of the particle 20 that is in contact with the substrate18.

In addition to the above, some aspects of the method may further includemoving the tip 12 to at least a second location of the substrate 18 suchthat the tip 12 is adjacent to other pieces of particles or debris (notillustrated) such that the other pieces of particles or debris arephysically attached to the tip 12. The other pieces of particles debrismay then be removed from the substrate 18 by moving the tip 12 away fromthe substrate 18 in a manner analogous to what is shown in FIG. 4.

Once debris (e.g., the particles 20 discussed above) have been removedfrom the substrate 18, some methods according to the present disclosuremay include a step of depositing the piece of debris in a piece ofmaterial positioned away from the substrate (e.g., the above-discussedpatch or reservoir of low energy material 14).

Because the tip 12 may be used repeatedly to remove large amounts ofdebris, according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, themethod may include replenishing the coating 16 by plunging the tip 12 inthe patch or reservoir of low energy material 14. Low surface energymaterial from the patch or reservoir of low energy material may coat anyholes or gaps that may have developed in the coating 16 of the tip 12over time. This replenishing may involve one or more of moving the tip12 laterally within the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14after plunging the tip 12 into the patch or reservoir of low energymaterial 14, rubbing a surface of the tip 12, or altering a physicalparameter (e.g., temperature) of the tip 12 and/or the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14.

It should be noted that certain methods according to the presentdisclosure may include exposing a small area around a defect or particleto a low surface energy material before a repair in order to reduce thelikelihood that the removed material will lump together and stronglyadhere again to the substrate after the repair is completed. Forexample, a defect/particle and an approximately 1-2 micron area aroundthe defect may be pre-coated with PTFE or FEP according to certainaspects of the present disclosure. In such instances, a tip 12 coated orconstructed from a low surface energy material (e.g., a PTFE or FEP tip)can be used to apply a very generous amount of the low surface energymaterial to a repair area even when other repair tools (laser, e-beam)are being utilized. In addition to the coating 16 on the tip 12, aportion or an entirety of the tip 12 may comprise a low energy materialsuch as, but not limited to, chlorinated and fluorinatedcarbon-containing molecules. Examples of such materials may include PTFEor FEP. Additionally or alternatively, other materials such as metalsand their compounds may be used. Some representative examples includeCs, Ir, and their oxides (as well as chlorides, fluorides, etc.). Thesetwo exemplary elemental metals are relatively soft metals with low andhigh surface energies respectively, and thus they represent theoptimization of a surface energy gradient optimal for a givencontaminate, substrate, and surrounding environment. Additionally oralternatively, other carbon based compounds may be used. Somerepresentative examples include HDC or DLC.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the methodincludes using the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14 to pushthe particles away from an apex of the tip 12 and toward an AFMcantilever arm (not illustrated) that is supporting the tip 12, abovethe apex. Such pushing up of the particles 20 may free up space near theapex of the tip 12 physically adhere more particles 20.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the tip 12 isused to remove nanomachining debris from high aspect ratio structuressuch as, for example, the trench 22 of the substrate 18, by alternately,dipping, inserting, and/or indenting the tip 12 into a pallet of softmaterial which may be found in the patch or reservoir of low energymaterial 14. In select aspects, the soft material of the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14 may have a doughy or malleableconsistency. This soft material may generally have a greater adherenceto the tip 12 and/or debris material (e.g., in the particles 20) than toitself. The soft material may also be selected to have polar propertiesto electrostatically attract the nanomachining debris particles 20 tothe tip 12. For example, the patch or reservoir of low energy material14 may comprise a mobile surfactant.

In addition to the above, according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, the tip 12 may include one or more dielectric surfaces(i.e., electrically insulated surfaces). These surfaces may be rubbed ona similarly dielectric surface in certain environmental conditions(e.g., low humidity) to facilitate particle pick-up due to electrostaticsurface charging. Also, according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, the coating 16 may attract particles by some othershort-range mechanism, which may include, but is not limited to,hydrogen bonding, chemical reaction, enhanced surface diffusion.

With reference to FIGS. 6-11, exemplary aspects of the debris removaltip will now be described. Any tip that is strong and stiff enough topenetrate (i.e., indent) the soft pallet material of the patch orreservoir of low energy material 14 may be used. Hence, very high aspecttip geometries (greater than 1:1) are within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Once the tip is stiff enough to penetrate the soft (possiblyadhesive) material, high aspect ratio tips that are strong and flexibleare generally selected over tips that are weaker and/or less flexible.Hence, according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the tipcan be rubbed into the sides and corners of the repair trench 22 of thesubstrate 18 without damaging or altering the trench 22 or the substrate18. A rough macro-scale analogy of this operation is a stiff bristlebeing moved inside a deep inner diameter. It should also be noted that,according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the tip 12 maycomprise a plurality of rigid or stiff nanofibrils bristles, as will bedescribed in greater detail below. In one aspect as shown in FIG. 6,each bristle of the plurality of rigid or stiff nanofibrils bristles 30may extended linearly from the tip 12. In one aspect, the plurality ofrigid or stiff nanofibrils bristles 30 may be formed with carbonnanotubes, metal whiskers, etc. The tip 12 may additionally oralternatively comprise a plurality of flexible or wrap nanofibrils, aswill be described in greater detail below. The plurality of flexible orwrap nanofibrils may be formed on the tip 12 using polymer materials,for example. Other materials and structures are of course contemplated.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the detection ofwhether or not one or more particles have been picked up may beperformed by employing a noncontact AFM scan of the region of interest(ROI) to detect particles. The tip 12 may then be retracted from thesubstrate 18 without rescanning until after treatment at the target.However, overall mass of debris material picked up by the tip 12 mayalso be monitored by relative shifts in the tip's resonant frequency. Inaddition, other dynamics may be used for the same function.

Instead of indenting in a soft material to remove particles 20 asdiscussed above and as illustrated in FIG. 5, the tip 12 may also bevectored into the patch or reservoir of low energy material 14 to removethe particles 20. As such, if the tip inadvertently picks up a particle20, the particle 20 can be removed by doing another repair. Particularlywhen a different material is used for depositing the particles 20 byvectoring, then a soft metal such as a gold foil may be used.

In addition to the above, an ultra-violet (UV)-light-curable material,or similarly some other material susceptible to a chemicallynonreversible reaction, may be used to coat the tip 12 and to form thecoating 16. Before the UV cure, the material picks up particles 20 fromthe substrate 18. Once the tip 12 is removed from the substrate 18, thetip 12 may be exposed to a UV source where the material's propertieswould be changed to make the particles 20 less adherent to the tip 12and more adherent to the material in the patch or reservoir of lowenergy material 14, where the particles 20 may subsequently be removedfrom the tip 12 and deposited with the patch or reservoir of low energymaterial 14. Other nonreversible process which further enhances, orenables, the selectivity of particle pick up and removal are of coursecontemplated.

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a variety ofadvantages. For example, certain aspects of the present disclosure allowfor active removal of debris from high aspect trench structures usingvery high aspect AFM tip geometries (greater than 1:1). Also, certainaspects of the present disclosure may be implemented relatively easilyby attaching a low surface energy or soft material pallet to an AFM,along with using a very high aspect tip and making relatively minoradjustments to the software repair sequences currently used by AFMoperators. In addition, according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, a novel nanomachining tool may be implemented that could beused (like nano-tweezers) to selectively remove particles from thesurface of a mask which could not be cleaned by any other method. Thismay be combined with a more traditional repair where the debris wouldfirst be dislodged from the surface with an uncoated tip, then picked upwith a coated tip.

Generally, it should be noted that, although a low surface energymaterial is used in the local clean methods discussed above, otherpossible variations are also within the scope of the present disclosure.Typically, these variations create a surface energy gradient (i.e., aGibbs free energy gradient) that attracts the particle 20 to the tip 12and may be subsequently reversed by some other treatment to release theparticles 20 from the tip 12.

One aspect of the present disclosure involves the attachment of at leastone nanofibril to the working end of an AFM tip to provide enhancedcapability in high aspect structures while also allowing for lessmechanically aggressive process to the underlying substrate. Thesefibrils can be, according to their mechanical properties and applicationtowards nanoparticle cleaning, classified under two different labels,“stiff” fibrils, and “wrap” fibrils. To understand the differences,FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate differences between these 2 types of fibrils,the stiff fibril 700 attached to a tip 710 and the wrap fibril 750attached to a tip 760. Additionally, we must first understand the twocritical processes required in BitClean particle cleaning: Dislodgementof the Nanoparticle, Bonding and Extraction of the Nanoparticle from theContaminated Surface. With these most critical steps defined, thefunctional differences between the two different fibrils are given asfollows.

With reference to FIG. 7A, the stiff fibril 700 relies more on themechanical action, and mechanical strength, of the fibril itself todislodge the nanoparticle. Thus, it also relies on the shear and bendingstrength and moduli of elasticity to accomplish the dislodgementsuccessfully without breaking. This means there are very few materialswhich could exceed, or even meet, the strength and stiffness (typicallyreferred to as its hardness) of single crystal diamond. Among these arecarbon nanotubes and graphene, since both use the carbon-carbon sp3hybrid orbital interatomic bonds (one of the strongest known) that arealso found in diamond. Other contemplated materials include certainphases of boron-containing chemistries which possess properties thatcould possibly exceed the mechanical strength and stiffness of diamondso these materials could also be used. In general, many materials(including diamond) can become intrinsically stronger and stiffer astheir dimensionality is reduced (with stiffness decreasing as thestructure approaches atomic scales and its shape is determined bythermal diffusive behaviors). This is a material phenomenon that wasfirst observed in nanocrystalline metals but has also been confirmed inmolecular simulation and some experiment to also occur with singlecrystal nanopillars. One leading hypothesis for this behavior leads intothe defect diffusion mechanism of plastic deformation. At larger scales,these crystal defects (vacancies, dislocations, etc.) diffuse andinteract in bulk-dominated kinetics. It is believed that at smallerscales (all things being equal such as material and temperature), thesedefect movements become dominated by surface-diffusion kinetics whichare much higher than in the bulk of the crystal. When considered withina material-continuum approximation, this greater surface diffusion ratetranslates into plastic deformation (also referred to as yield), andeven failure, of materials at lower stress levels. For example, with Tisingle-crystal nanopillars, the yield stress has been shown to increasewith decreasing cross-section width up to a range around 8 to 14 nm(depending, in part, to the direction of the stress and thecrystallographic orientation of the nanopillar), below this range, thebehavior undergoes an inflection point where the yield stress actuallydecreases with decreasing cross-section width.

FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate an exemplary process of dislodging andremoving a nanoparticle from a target substrate using a single stifffibril 800 attached at or near the apex of an AFM tip 810. The tip 810approaches the surface and scans using the same principles as an AFMscan without the stiff fibril. It will be appreciated by one skilled inthe art that different operational parameters may be applied in view ofthe single stiff fibril 800 attached to the apex of the tip 810. Oncethe particle is located, the tip 810 is moved towards a surface 830 andthe stiff fibril 800 is elastically deformed, as generally shown in FIG.8B. In one aspect, the deformation of the stiff fibril 800 may becompressive, shear, bending, tensile or a combination thereof and canalso be used to mechanically dislodge the nanoparticle 820 from thesurface 830. Once the nanoparticle 820 is dislodged, the surface energyand area differences between the stiff fibril 800, substrate 840 andnanoparticle 820 surfaces govern whether the nanoparticle 820 adheres tothe stiff fibril 800 when it is subsequently extracted from thesubstrate surface 830.

An exception to this, unique to the stiff fibril nanoparticle cleanprocess, is when two or more stiff fibrils are strongly attached to thetip surface at a distance less than the nanoparticle diameter (but notless than the elastic deformation limit for the stiff fibrils asdetermined by their shear and bending moduli and length to width ratio),as illustrated in FIGS. 9A to 9C. In accordance with aspects where twoor more stiff fibrils 900 a, 900 b are attached to the tip 910 at adistance less than the nanoparticle diameter, the sequence is verysimilar to the single stiff fibril as discussed above with reference toFIGS. 8A to 8C. The differences starting in the observation that thereare more strained or deformed stiff fibrils 900 a, 900 b around thenanoparticle 920 thus increasing the probability that one or more stifffibrils 900 a, 900 b will impact the nanoparticle 920 in just the way(force and angle of applied force) needed to dislodge a nanoparticle 920for a given cleaning scenario, as generally shown in FIG. 9B. Followingthe dislodgement step, the multi-fibril tip 910 may have more potentialsurface area for the particle 920 to adhere (i.e., wet) to. As the tip910 is retracted from the substrate, as generally shown in FIG. 9C,another difference emerges if the length and spacing of the fibrils arewithin the correct range. The nanoparticle 920 with this setup has thepossibility of becoming mechanically trapped within the spaces betweenthe stiff nanofibrils 900 a, 900 b, which may result in greater adhesionto the multi-fibril 900 a, 900 b and a greater probably of extractingthe nanoparticle 920 from the substrate surface 930. Similarly, if it isdesired to deposit the nanoparticle 920 on another surface, the tip 910may be re-approached to a surface and the stiff fibrils 900 a, 900 bagain stressed to relax their mechanical entrapment of the nanoparticle920 thus increasing the probability the nanoparticle 920 will bedeposited at the desired surface location. As previously stated, thisassumes that the length and spacing of the fibrils 900 a, 900 b arewithin the correct range, on the first order model, these ranges includea fibril spacing less than the minimum width of the nanoparticle 920(assuming a strong nanoparticle that will not crumble), but large enoughthat the fibrils 900 a, 900 b will not be bent beyond their shear andbending strength limit (also determined by the relative length of thefibrils and assuming the adhesion strength of the fibril attachment isnot less than this limit), as will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art in view of the present disclosure. In select aspects, the two ormore stiff fibrils may have different and unequal lengths.

To define what a stiff fibril is (as opposed to a wrap fibril), one mustbe able to define the anisotropic spring constants (related to theeffective shear and bending moduli) for a specific material andnano-structure. Since this is very difficult to do in practice, it isassumed for our purposes here that these properties are roughlyproportional to the tensile (a.k.a. Young's) elastic modulus andstrength. The tensile modulus is a possible measure of the stiffness ofa material within the stress range where it exhibits elastic (i.e.,spring-like) mechanical properties. It is given as the stress divided bythe strain, thus yielding units the same as stress (since stain isdefined as deformation ratio of final versus initial dimension).Although it does not specifically define stiffness, tensile strength isalso important since the fibril must be able to apply sufficient forceto dislodge a nanoparticle without breaking-off itself and creating anadditional contamination to the substrate surface. Strength is alsogiven in units of stress (Pascals). For diamond, the intrinsic tensilemodulus is on the order of 1.22 terra-Pascals (TPa) with a tensilestrength ranging from 8.7 to 16.5 giga-Pascals (GPa) and provides hereour general reference measure for stiffness and strength (approachingwithin the value for tungsten of 0.5 TPa for tensile elastic modulus, orexceeding these values). Since carbon nanotubes are, by their verynature, not intrinsic entities their tensile moduli are specific to theindividual molecule and its properties (e.g., Single-walled orMulti-Walled, respectively SWNT or MWNT, chirality, etc.). For SWNT's,their tensile elastic modulus can range from 1 to 5 TPa with its tensilestrength ranging from 13 to 53 GPa. For comparison with another class ofmaterials in this range, B_(x)N_(y) (boron nitride compounds of variousstoichiometry) has a tensile elastic modulus which ranges from 0.4 to0.9 TPa. For the purpose of distinguishing and defining the boundarybetween a wrap fibril from a stiff fibril, the standard mechanicalmaterial property most relevant and applicable is the yield stress. Astiff fibril is defined here as any material with a yield stress greaterthan or equal to 0.5 GPa (1 GPa=1×10⁹ N/m²). Thus, by elimination, anymaterial with a yield stress less than 0.5 GPa would be considered awrap fibril. It should be noted that, especially at nanoscales, manymaterials can exhibit anisotropic mechanical properties so it isimportant that the yield stress is specified for shear stresses (orequivalent bending stresses) transverse to the fibril's major (i.e.,longest) dimension.

A wrap fibril, in contrast to a stiff fibril, will have much lowerspring constants (specified here as elastic tensile moduli) withsufficiently high (comparable) tensile strength. In the case of the wrapfibrils, due to the differences in how it is applied, the tensilestrength is directly related to its performance since a tensile force isapplied to both dislodge and extract the nanoparticle from the substratesurface. However, it should be noted, that most mechanical propertiesquoted in the literature are for the bulk material which should, inprinciple, be almost completely unrelated to the tensile properties formono-molecular fibrils (or nano-scale fibrils approaching mono-molecularscales). For example, PTFE, is typically quoted to have very low tensileelastic modulus and strength in the bulk material (0.5 GPa and maybe<<20 MPa respectively), but since the molecule's backbone is comprisedof carbon-carbon sp-hybrid orbital chemical bonds, its mono-moleculartensile strength should be more comparable to diamond than many othermaterials, C-nanotubes, and graphene (all of which contain the same kindof chemical bonds). Since the bulk material mechanical properties ismore related to the action of single-molecule strands interacting withtheir neighbors, it should be more comparable to both the cohesive andmono-molecular bending and shear moduli. Since these types of materials(polymers) exemplify the mechanical properties associated with plasticdeformation, their molecules are expected to deform according to morediffusive-thermal behaviors which exhibit high flexibility. If themacroscopic allegory for the stiff fibril is a sliver of glass, thecomparable allegory for the wrap fibril would be thin carbon fibers (thelatter can appear highly flexible at macro scales with high tensilestrength).

FIGS. 10A to 10C show a nanoparticle cleaning sequence using a wrap(flexible) nanofibril 1000 attached to an AFM tip 1010 near or at theapex, in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Sincethere is no compression stress required to deform the wrap-type fibril1000, the tip 1010 is brought into close proximity to the surface 1030in order to bring the fibril 1000 into close enough proximity to thenanoparticle surface for short range surface energy forces to allow forthe fibril 1000 to adhere to it. Since the relative surface energies ofthe fibril 1000, nanoparticle 1020, and substrate surfaces 1030 aretargeted so that the fibril would preferentially adhere to thenanoparticle surface, once the fibril 1000 is brought into contact withenough slack given the fibril length, only time and applied agitationenergies (possibly mechanical and/or thermal) are required to allow thefibril 1000 to wrap around the particle 1020. It is possible thatmechanical energies (whether by the tip 1010 with the fibrils 1000attached, or another tip in a prior processing pass) from a more rigidtip could be applied to initially dislodge the particle 1120. Once thefibril 1000 is sufficiently wrapped-around the nanoparticle 1020, asgenerally shown in FIG. 10B, the tip 1010 is then extracted from thesubstrate surface 1030. During this phase, if the adhesion of thefibrils 1000 to the nanoparticle 1020 (enhanced the more it is wrappedand entangled around the nanoparticle), the tensile strength of thefibril 1000, and its adhesion to the AFM tip 1010 are all greater thanthe adhesion of the nanoparticle 1020 to the substrate 1040, then thenanoparticle 1020 will be extracted from the substrate 1040 with the tip1010, as generally shown in FIG. 10C.

Some examples of possible materials that may be used to make wrap nano(or molecular) scale fibrils include: RNA/DNA, Actin, amyloidnanostructures, and Ionomers. RNA (ribonucleic acid) and DNA(deoxyribonucleic acid) are described together since they representsimilar chemistries, preparation, and handling processes. Recently,significant progress has been made with the technology knowncolloquially as, “DNA-Origami”, which allows for the precise chemicalengineering of how DNA molecules link together. It is believed thatsimilar processes, applied to these or similar chemistries, could allowfor long polymer chain molecules to detach and link-together on queue.Given the most common process, specific DNA sequences would bechemically produced, or obtained commercially from well-knownsingle-stranded viral DNA sequences, and a properlychemically-functionalized (such as is done in Chemical Force Microscopypractices) AFM tip 1110 is immersed in the aqueous solution, or placedin AFM-contact to a surface, containing the DNA sequences so that thelatter bind as designed. The tip 1110 may then be functionalized forparticle removal from a substrate surface 1130, as shown in FIGS. 11A to11D. Moving from left to right in the figures, the functionalized tip1110 may be moved or actuated to approach near (closer than the lengthof the DNA strands 1100) the particle 1120 and substrate surfaces 1130,as shown in FIG. 11A. A higher temperature may be applied (possibly ˜90°C.) with an activating chemistry (either helper DNA strands, alsoavailable commercially, or some other ionic activator such as amagnesium salt) while the tip 1110 is near the dislodged particle 1120as shown in FIG. 11B. The environment may then cooled (possibly to ˜20°C.) allowing the targeted sequences in the strands 1100 to link up asshown in FIG. 11C (the linking strands 1100 are at the opposite freeends of the molecules). Once the DNA coating 1100 has solidified to thepoint where the nanoparticle 1120 is securely attached, the tip 1110 maythen be extracted from the substrate surface 1130 as shown in FIG. 11D.At these small scales, it is possible to describe this bonding betweenthe nanoparticle and the tip to be mechanical, however if the particleis on the molecular scale, it could also be described as a steric bond.Steric effects may be created by atomic repulsion at close enoughproximity. If an atom or molecule is surrounded by atoms in all possiblediffusion directions, it will be effectively trapped and unable tochemically of physically interact with any other atoms or molecules inits environment. RNA can similarly be manipulated as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure

The next possible wrap nano-fibril candidate is a family of similarglobular multi-function proteins that forms filaments in eukaryoticcells, one of which is known as actin. Actin is used inside cells forscaffolding, anchoring, mechanical supports, and binding, which wouldindicate it is a highly adaptable and sufficiently strong proteinfilament. It would be applied and used in methods very similar to theDNA-origami related process discussed above. Experiments indicate thatthis protein can be crystalized to a molecule of dimensions of6.7×4.0×3.7 nm.

Research into the mechanisms in which certain marine organisms(barnacles, algae, marine flatworms, etc.) can strongly bond to a largerange of substrate materials biomimetically (or directly) providesanother wrap fibril candidate. These marine organisms secrete asubstance, commonly referred to by the acronym DOPA (3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which bonds to these substrate surfaces withfunctional amyloid nanostructures. The adhesive properties of amyloidmolecules are due to β-strands that are oriented perpendicular to thefibril axis and connected through a dense hydrogen-bonding network. Thisnetwork results in supramolecular β-sheets that often extendcontinuously over thousands of molecular units. Fibrillar nanostructureslike this have several advantages including: underwater adhesion,tolerance to environmental deterioration, self-healing fromself-polymerization, and large fibril surface areas. As previouslydiscussed, large fibril surface areas enhance adhesion by increasing thecontact area in the adhesive plaques of barnacles. Amyloidnanostructures also have possible mechanical advantages such as cohesivestrength associated with the generic amyloid intermolecular β-sheetstructure and adhesive strength related to adhesive residues external tothe amyloid core. These properties make amyloid structures a basis for apromising new generation of bio-inspired adhesives for a wide range ofapplications. Advances in the use of molecular self-assembly haveallowed for the creation of synthetic amyloid and amyloid-analogueadhesives for nanotechnological applications although a fully rationaldesign has not yet been demonstrated experimentally, in part, due tolimits in understanding of the underlying biological design principles.

The final example of a wrap fibril material is a class of polymers knownas ionomers. In brief, these are long thermoplastic polymer moleculesthat strongly bind at targeted ionic charged sites along the molecularchain. A common example of an ionomer chemistry ispoly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid). According to one aspect of thepresent disclosure, the ionomer may be functionalized to the surface ofa scanning thermal probe. The process for cleaning a nanoparticle wouldthen be very similar to that shown for the DNA-origami process discussedabove except that an aqueous environment would not necessarily berequired especially when used with the scanning thermal probe. Anionomer functionalization coating may also be paired with an ionicsurfactant for preferential conjugate bonding within an aqueous (orsimilar solvent) environment. It should be mentioned that these examples(especially DNA/RNA and actin) are highly biocompatible for removal andmanipulation of nano-particulate entities inside living structures suchas cells.

For example, one variation that may be used includes using a highsurface energy tip coating. Another variation includes pretreating theparticles with a low surface energy material to debond the particles andthen contacting the particles with a high surface energy tip coating(sometimes on a different tip). Still another variation includes makinguse of a chemical energy gradient that corresponds to a chemicalreaction occurring between a tip surface coating and the particlesurface to bond the two. This may either be performed until a tip isexhausted or reversed with some other treatment.

According to still other aspects of the present disclosure, adhesives orsticky coatings are used in combination with one or more of theabove-listed factors. Also, the surface roughness or small scale (e.g.,nanometer-scale) texture can be engineered to maximize particle cleanprocess efficiency.

In addition to the above, mechanical bonding may be used, typically whenthe tip 12 includes fibrils that, analogously to a mop, are capable ofmechanically entangling the particles 20. The mechanical entanglement,according to certain aspects of the present disclosure, is driven byand/or enhanced by surface energy or chemical changes with contact orenvironment.

According to still other aspects of the present disclosure, the tip 12may be coated with molecular tweezers (i.e., molecular clips). Thesetweezers may comprise noncyclic compounds with open cavities capable ofbinding guests (e.g., the above-discussed particles 20). The open cavityof the tweezers typically binds guests using non-covalent bondingincluding hydrogen bonding, metal coordination, hydrophobic forces, vander Waals forces, π-π interactions, and/or electrostatic effects. Thesetweezers are sometimes analogous to macrocyclic molecular receptorsexcept that the two arms that bind the guest molecules are typicallyonly connected at one end.

In addition to the above, the particles 20 may be removed by the tipusing diffusion bonding or Casmir effects. Also, as in the aspects ofthe present illustrated in FIG. 6, bristles or fibrils 30 can beattached to the end of the tip 12. Whether strategically or randomlyplaced, these bristles or fibrils 30 can enhance local clean in severalways. For example, an associated increase in surface area may be usedfor surface (short range) bonding to the particles.

According to some of aspects of the present disclosure, fibrils 30 areengineered to be molecules that selectively (e.g., by either surface orenvironment) coil around and entangle a particle 20, thus maximizingsurface contact. Also, dislodging of the particles 20 occurs accordingto certain aspects of the present disclosure, typically when stiffbristles 30 are attached to the tip 12. However, fibrils 30 may alsoentangle a particle 20 and dislodge the particle 20 mechanically bypulling on the particle 20. In contrast, relatively rigid bristles 30typically allow the tip 12 to extend into hard-to-reach crevices. Then,by impact deformation stress of the bristles 30, by surface-modificationof the tip 12 to repel particles 20, or by some combination, theparticle 20 is dislodged. In addition, certain aspects of the presentdisclosure mechanically bond the particles 20 to the tip 12. Whenfibrils are on the tip 12, entanglement of one or more of either thewhole or frayed fibrils may occur. When bristles are on the tip 12, theparticle 20 may be wedged between (elastically) stressed bristles.

According to still other aspects of the present disclosure, methods ofdebris removal include changing the environment to facilitate localclean. For example, gas or liquid media may be introduced or thechemistry and/or physical properties (e.g., pressure, temperature, andhumidity) may be changed.

In addition to the components discussed above, certain aspects of thepresent disclosure include an image recognition system that identifiesdebris to be removed. As such, an automatic debris-removal device isalso within the scope of the present disclosure.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, a relativelysoft cleaning tip is used to avoid unwanted damage to inside contours,walls, and/or bottom of a complex shape. When appropriate, a strongerforce is used to bring the relatively soft tip into much strongercontact with the surface while also increasing the scan speed.

It should also be noted that a tip exposed to and/or coated with a lowsurface energy material may be used for other purposes besides removingdebris (cleaning) of nanometer level structures. For example, such tipscan also be used, according to certain aspects of the presentdisclosure, to periodically lubricate micron level or smaller devices(like MEMS/NEMS) to contain chemical reactions.

This method may be performed in a variety of environments according tothe requirements of the application and to further enhance differentialadhesion of the particle from the substrate surface to the patch orreservoir of low energy material. These environments may include, butare not limited to, vacuum, shield gasses of various composition andpressure, and fluids of variable composition (including fluids withvarying ionic strengths and/or pHs).

Since there are many other factors influencing the Gibbs free energygradients between the substrate, tip, debris, and soft patch, theseother factors may also be manipulated to create a down-hill gradient tomove particles from the substrate to the soft patch. One factor istemperature. It would be possible to use a scanning thermal probe inconjunction with temperature of the substrate and soft patch material tocreate a desired gradient. The fundamental equation for Gibbs freeenergy indicates that if the debris is successively contacted bysurfaces of greater relative temperature (since the T*S term is negativein the equation) may provide a possible driving force of ΔG<0. From theequation for AG of a deformed rod under high temperature, we can alsosee another factor is stress applied to the tip would potentiallyincrease debris adhesion. This could be accomplished by externalhardware (i.e., biomaterial strips with different coefficients ofthermal expansion) or by compression or shear with the substrate belowthe threshold for nanomachining or tip breakage. The deformation of thetip material may also provide a mechanism of mechanical entrapment ofthe debris especially if it is roughened (or covered in nano-bristles)and/or if it has a high microstructural defect (i.e., void) density atthe surface. The final factor that will be discussed will be chemicalpotential energy. It is possible to modify the chemical state of the tipand/or soft patch surfaces to create preferential chemical reactions tobond the debris material to the tip. These chemical bonds may becovalent or ionic in nature (with the sp3-hybrid orbital covalent bondbeing the strongest). The debris may be coated with one component of atargeted lock-and-key chemically bonding pair of chemistries. The tip(or another tip) may be coated with the other chemical and brought incontact with the debris surface to bond it to the tip. One non-limitingexample of a lock-and-key pair of chemistries is streptavidin and biotinwhich is often used in Chemical Force Microscopy (CFM) experiments.Another example using an ionic bond would be two surfactant polarmolecular chemistries where the exposed polar ends of the molecules onthe debris and tip surface are of opposite charge. There are additionalrelated aspects to the surface chemical interaction adhesion mechanismsincluding depleted solvation and steric-interacting coatings orsurfaces. Chemical changes to the tip surface would also allow fortargeted changes to its surface energy as well as phase changes (inparticular from fluid to solid) that may surround (to maximize surfacearea dA) and mechanically entrap the debris at the tip surface in orderto bond it. These chemical changes (whether to the tip material surfaceor some intermediary coating) may be catalyzed by external energysources such as heat (temperature), ultraviolet light, and chargedparticle beams.

Turning to FIGS. 12-38, exemplary aspects of debris detection andcollection systems will now be discussed. FIG. 12 illustrates aperspective view of a debris collection apparatus 100 for extractingdebris 20 from a substrate 18, according to an aspect of the disclosure.The apparatus 100 includes a substrate support assembly 102 and a tipsupport assembly 104, each being supported by or coupled to a base 106.The base 106 may be a unitary slab, such as a unitary metallic slab, aunitary stone slab, a unitary concrete slab, or any other unitary slabstructure known in the art. Alternatively, the base 106 may include aplurality of slabs that are fixed relative to one another. The pluralityof slabs may include a metal slab, a stone slab, a concrete slab,combinations thereof, or any other slab assembly known in the art.According to an aspect of the disclosure, the base 106 may be a unitarystone slab, such as a unitary granite slab or a unitary marble slab, forexample.

The substrate support assembly 102 may include a fixture 108 configuredto support the substrate 18, fix the substrate 18 to the substratesupport assembly 102, or both. The substrate support assembly 102 mayfurther include a substrate stage assembly 110 that is configured tomove the fixture 108 relative to the base 106. The substrate stageassembly 110 may include one or more motion stages, such as lineartranslation stages, rotational motion stages, combinations thereof, orany other motion stage known in the art. For example, the substratestage assembly 110 may be configured to move the fixture 108 relative tothe base 106 in translation along an x-direction 112, in translationalong a y-direction 114, in translation along a z-direction 116, inrotation about the x-direction 112, in rotation about the y-direction114, in rotation about the z-direction 116, or combinations thereof. Thex-direction 112, the y-direction 114, and the z-direction 116 may bemutually orthogonal to one another, however, it will be appreciated thatx-direction 112, the y-direction 114, and the z-direction 116 need notbe mutually orthogonal to one another.

The one or more motion stages of the substrate stage assembly 110 mayinclude one or more actuators 118 that are configured to effect adesired relative motion between the fixture 108 and the base 106. Forexample, the one or more actuators 118 may include a rotational motorcoupled to the substrate stage assembly 110 via a threaded rod or a wormgear, a servo motor, a magnetic actuator configured to assert a force onthe substrate stage assembly 110 via a magnetic field, a pneumatic orhydraulic piston coupled to the substrate stage assembly 110 via apiston rod, a piezoelectric actuator, or any other motion actuator knownin the art. The one or more actuators 118 may be fixed to the base 106.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the substrate stage assembly110 may include a first stage 120 and a second stage 122, where thefirst stage 120 is configured to move the fixture 108 relative to thesecond stage 122 via a first actuator 124, and the second stage isconfigured to move the first stage 120 relative to the base via a secondactuator 126. The first actuator 124 may be configured to translate thefirst stage 120 along the x-direction 112, and the second actuator 126may be configured to translate the second stage 122 along they-direction 114. However, it will be appreciated that the first stage120 and the second stage 122 may be configured to move relative to thebase 106 in translation along or rotation about other axes to suit otherapplications.

The tip support assembly 104 may include a tip 12 coupled to a tip stageassembly 130 via a tip cantilever 132. The tip 12 may be a ScanningProbe Microscopy (SPM) tip, such as a tip for an AFM or a ScanningTunneling Microscopy (STM). It will be appreciated that the tip 12illustrated in FIG. 12 may embody any of the tip structures orattributes previously discussed herein. Accordingly, the tip stageassembly 130 may be an SPM scanner assembly. The tip stage assembly 130may be fixed to the base 106, and configured to move the tip 12 relativeto the base 106 in translation along the x-direction 112, in translationalong the y-direction 114, in translation along the z-direction 116, inrotation about the x-direction 112, in rotation about the y-direction114, in rotation about the z-direction 116, or combinations thereof.

Similar to the substrate stage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130may include one or more actuators 134 to effect the desired motion ofthe tip 12 relative to the base 106. According to an aspect of thedisclosure, the one or more actuators may include a rotary actuatorsystem operatively coupled to the tip 12 in order to rotate the tip 12about a first axis. According to an aspect of the disclosure, the one ormore actuators 134 may include one or more piezoelectric actuators,however, it will be appreciated that other actuator structures may beused for the one or more actuators 134 to meet the needs of a particularapplication, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The substrate stage assembly 110 may be configured to effect motionswith greater magnitude and lower precision than motions effected by thetip stage assembly 130. Thus, the substrate stage assembly 110 may betailored to effect coarse relative motion between the fixture 108 andthe tip 12, and the tip stage assembly 130 may be tailored to effectfiner relative motion between the fixture 108 and the tip 12.

In accordance with one aspect, the apparatus 100 of FIG. 12 may includea first patch 142 disposed on the substrate support assembly 102, thebase 106, or both. In accordance with another aspect, as shown in FIG.13, the apparatus 100 may include a first patch 142 and a second patch144 disposed on the substrate support assembly 102, the base 106, orboth. The first patch 142, the second patch 144, or both, may embody anyof the structures, materials, or attributes of the patch 14 previouslydiscussed. According to an aspect of the disclosure, the second patch144 may embody structures and materials that are similar or identical tothat of the first patch 142, where the second patch 144 is usedpredominately to receive and hold debris 20 collected from the substrate18 via the tip 12, and the first patch is used predominately to treat orprepare the tip 12 for subsequent collection of debris 20 from thesubstrate 18. Alternatively, the second patch 144 may embody structuresor materials different from the first patch 142, such that the firstpatch 142 may be better tailored to treating the tip 12 beforecollecting debris 20 from the substrate 18, and the second patch 144 maybe better tailored to receive and hold debris 20 collected from thesubstrate 18 and deposited onto the second patch 144 via the tip 12.

In one aspect, the second patch 144 may be configured as a collectionpocket or collection through-hole for collecting debris or contaminatefrom the tip 12, as will be described in further detail with referenceto FIGS. 30-37. However, it will be appreciated that either the firstpatch 142 or the second patch 144 may be used alone to both treat thetip 12 prior to collecting debris 20 from the substrate 18 and toreceive and hold debris 20 collected from the substrate 18 using the tip12. As shown in FIG. 13, the second patch 144 may be disposed or mountedto the first stage 120 opposite of the first patch 142. However, thesecond patch 144 may be located adjacent to the first patch 142, or maybe located on any other location of the first stage 120 or on the debriscollection apparatus 100 to promote capture of debris when configured asa collection pocket or collection through-hole.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, as shown in FIG. 14, anyor all of the actuators 118 for the substrate stage assembly and theactuators 134 for the tip stage assembly from the debris collectionapparatus 100 of FIG. 12 or 13, respectively, may operatively be coupledto a controller 136 for control thereof. Accordingly, the controller 136may effect relative motion between the fixture 108 and the base 106, andthe tip 12 and the base 106 through control of the actuators 118, 134,respectively. In turn, the controller 136 may effect relative motionbetween the tip 12 and the fixture 108 through control of the actuators118, 134.

Further, the controller 136 may effect relative motion between thefixture 108 and the base 106 in response to manual user inputs 138,procedures or algorithms pre-programmed into a memory 140 of thecontroller 136, combinations thereof, or any other control inputs knownin the art. It will be appreciated that pre-programmed controlalgorithms for the controller 136 may include closed-loop algorithms,open-loop algorithms, or both.

FIG. 15 illustrates a perspective view of a debris collection andmetrology apparatus 200 for extracting debris 10 from a substrate 18 andanalyzing properties of the debris 20, according to an aspect of thedisclosure. Similar to the debris collection apparatus 100 of FIG. 12,the debris collection and metrology apparatus 200 includes a substratesupport assembly 102, a tip support assembly 104, and a base 106.However, the debris collection and metrology apparatus 200 furtherincludes a metrology system 202. In accordance with aspects of thepresent disclosure, the metrology system 202 may be a nano-scalemetrology system.

The metrology system 202 may include an energy source 204 and an energydetector 206. The energy source 204 may be an x-ray source, a visiblelight source, an infrared light source, an ultraviolet light source, anelectron beam source, a laser source, combinations thereof, or any otherelectromagnetic energy source known in the art. It will be appreciatedthat visible light sources may include a visible light laser, infraredlight sources may include an infrared laser, and ultraviolet lightsources may include an ultraviolet laser.

The energy source 204 may be directed towards and trained on the tip 12such that an incident energy beam 208 generated by the energy source 204is incident upon the tip 12. At least a portion of the incident energybeam 208 may be reflected, refracted, or absorbed and re-emitted by thetip 12 or debris 20 disposed on the tip 12. According to an aspect ofthe disclosure, the energy source 204 may be an irradiation sourceconfigured and arranged to direct an incident irradiation onto the tip12, such as an SPM tip, and the energy detector 206 may be anirradiation detector configured and arranged to receive a sampleirradiation from the tip 12, the sample radiation being generated as aresult of the incident irradiation being applied and reflected,refracted, or absorbed and re-emitted by the tip 12 or debris 20disposed on the tip 12.

The energy detector 206 may also be directed towards and trained on thetip 12 such that a sample energy beam 210 is incident upon the energydetector 206. The sample energy beam 210 may include contributions fromthe incident energy beam 208 reflected by the tip 12 or debris 20disposed on the tip 12, refracted by the tip 12 or debris 20 disposed onthe tip 12, absorbed and re-emitted by the tip 12 or debris 20 disposedon the tip 12, combinations thereof, or any other energy beam that mayresult from an interaction between the incident energy beam 208 andeither the tip 12 or debris 20 disposed on the tip 12. Accordingly, theenergy detector 206 may be a light detector, such as a photomultipliertube or a photodiode, for example, an x-ray detector; an electron beamdetector; combinations thereof; or any other electromagnetic radiationdetector known in the art.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the energy source 204 includesan electron beam source, and the energy detector 206 includes an x-raydetector. According to another aspect of the disclosure, the energysource 204 includes an x-ray source, and the energy detector 206includes an electron beam detector. According to another aspect of thedisclosure, the energy source 204 includes a light source, including butnot limited to, visible light and infrared light.

The energy detector 206 may be configured to generate an output signalbased on an intensity of the sample energy beam 210, a frequency of thesample energy beam 210, combinations thereof, or any otherelectromagnetic radiation property of the sample energy beam 210 knownin the art. Further, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure, the energy detector 206 may be coupled to the controller136, as shown in FIG. 16, such that the controller 136 receives theoutput signal from the energy detector 206 in response to the sampleenergy beam. Accordingly, as described later herein, the controller 136may be configured to analyze the output signal from the energy detector206 in response to the sample energy beam 210 and identify one or morematerial attributes of the tip 12 or debris 20 disposed on the tip 12.Optionally, the energy source 204 may operatively be coupled to thecontroller 136 of FIG. 16, such that the controller 136 may controlattributes of the incident energy beam 208 that is generated by theenergy source 204, such as, but not limited to an intensity of theincident energy beam 208, a frequency of the incident energy beam 208,or both. In one aspect, a direction of the energy source 204, the sampleenergy beam 210, and/or the energy detector 206 may be adjusted inresponse to the output signal from the energy detector 206.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the controller 136 mayoperatively be coupled to an actuator system including the one or moreactuators 134 and the energy detector 206, the controller 136 beingconfigured to receive a first signal based on a first response of theenergy detector to a sample irradiation, such as the sample energy beam210, and being configured to effect relative motion between the tip 12and the at least one energy detector 206 via the one or more actuators134 based on the first signal. In one aspect, the controller 136 may beconfigured to generate a first frequency domain spectrum of the sampleirradiation based on a first response of the irradiation detector to asample irradiation, and generate a second frequency domain spectrum bysubtracting a background frequency domain spectrum from the firstfrequency domain spectrum. In response to the second frequency domainspectrum, the controller 136 may effect relative motion between the tip12 and at least one of the energy source 204 and the energy detector 206via the one or more actuators 134. In one aspect, the controller 136 mayfurther be configured to generate the background frequency domain basedon a response of the energy detector 206 on the tip 12 when the tip 12is free of or substantially free of contamination. In one aspect, thecontroller 136 may be configured to receive a second signal based on asecond response of the energy detector 206 to the sample irradiation,and the controller 136 may be configured to effect relative motionbetween the tip 12 and at least one of the energy detector 206 and theenergy source 204 via the one or more actuators 134 based on adifference between the first signal and the second signal. In oneaspect, the controller 136 is configured to effect a magnitude ofrelative motion between the tip 12 and at least one of the energydetector 206 and the energy source 204 based on a difference between thefirst signal and the second signal.

Referring now to FIGS. 17A, 17B, 18A and 18B, it will be appreciatedthat FIGS. 17A and 18A illustrate top views of a debris collection andmetrology apparatus 250, and FIGS. 17B and 18B illustrate side views ofa debris collection and metrology apparatus 250, according to aspects ofthe disclosure. Similar to the debris collection and metrology apparatus200, illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16, respectively, the debris collectionand metrology apparatus 250 may include a substrate support assembly102, a tip support assembly 104, a base 106, and a metrology system 202.However, in the debris collection and metrology apparatus 250, theenergy source 204 and the energy detector 206 may each be directedtowards and trained on a patch 252 instead of the tip 12.

The patch 252 may embody any of the structures or attributes of thefirst patch 142 or the second patch 144 previously discussed, or thepatch 252 may include or be configured as a collection pocket orcollection through-hole for collecting debris or contaminate from thetip 12, as will be described in further detail with reference to FIGS.30-37. Accordingly, the debris collection and metrology apparatus 250may be configured to analyze a material property of the patch 252,debris 20 disposed on the patch 252, or combinations thereof, using themetrology system 202.

Actuation and/or adjustment of the substrate stage assembly 110, the tipstage assembly 130, or both, is capable of effecting at least threeprocedures using the debris collection and metrology apparatus 250.During a first procedure, actuation and/or movement of the substratestage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, or both, effects contactbetween the tip 12 and a substrate 18 disposed on the fixture 108, suchthat debris 20 is transferred from the substrate 18 to the tip 12.During a second procedure, actuation and/or movement of the substratestage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, or both, effects contactbetween the tip 12 and the patch 252 to transfer debris 20 from the tip12 to the patch 252. During a third procedure, actuation and/or movementof the substrate stage assembly 110 directs and trains each of theenergy source 204 and the energy detector 206 onto the patch 252, suchthat an incident energy beam 208 from the energy source 204 is incidentupon the patch 252, and a sample energy beam 210 emanating from thepatch 252 is incident up on the energy detector 206.

As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the energy detector 206 may be coupled tothe controller 136, such that the controller 136 receives the outputsignal from the energy detector 206 in response to the sample energybeam. Accordingly, as described later herein, the controller 136 may beconfigured to analyze the output signal from the energy detector 206 inresponse to the sample energy beam 210 and identify one or more materialattributes of the patch 252 or debris 20 disposed on the patch 252.Optionally, the energy source 204 may operatively be coupled to thecontroller 136 of FIGS. 18A and 18B, such that the controller 136 maycontrol attributes of the incident energy beam 208 that is generated bythe energy source 204, such as, but not limited to an intensity of theincident energy beam 208, a frequency of the incident energy beam 208,or both. In one aspect, a direction of the energy source 204, the sampleenergy beam 210, and/or the energy detector 206 may be adjusted inresponse to the output signal from the energy detector 206.

Referring now to FIGS. 19A, 19B, 20A and 20B, it will be appreciatedthat FIGS. 19A and 20A illustrate top view of a debris collection andmetrology apparatus 250, and FIGS. 19B and 20B illustrate side views ofa debris collection and metrology apparatus 250, according to aspects ofthe disclosure. Similar to the debris collection and metrologyapparatuses 250 of FIGS. 17A, 17B, 18A and 18B, the debris collectionand metrology apparatus 250 may include a substrate support assembly102, a tip support assembly 104, a base 106, a metrology system 202, anenergy source 204, and an energy detector 206. The debris collection andmetrology apparatus 250 of FIGS. 17A, 17B, 18A and 18B may furtherinclude a first patch 252 and a second patch 254. In one aspect, thefirst patch 252 and the second patch 254 may be disposed on oppositesides of the substrate 18 and mounted to the fixture 108. The energysource 204 and the energy detector 206 may each be directed towards andtrained on at least one of the first patch 252 and the second patch 254.The first patch 252 and the second patch 254 may embody any of thestructures or attributes previously described. Additionally, oralternatively, the first patch 252 and the second patch 254 may includeor may be configured as a collection pocket or collection through-holefor collecting debris or contaminate from the tip 12, as will bedescribed in further detail with reference to FIGS. 30-37. For example,the debris collection and metrology apparatus 250, the energy source 204and the energy detector 206 may each be directed towards the collectionpocket or collection through-hole to analyze a material property ofdebris or contaminate 20 collected on the collection pocket orcollection through-hole using the metrology system 202.

Actuation and/or adjustment of the substrate stage assembly 110, the tipstage assembly 130, or both, is capable of effecting at least threeprocedures using the debris collection and metrology apparatus 250. Inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, debris may beremoved from the substrate 18 and collected using a collection pocket ora collection through-hole as will be described in further detail below.The collection pocket or the collection through-hole may be a part ofthe first patch 252 and the second patch 254, or may be mounted orpositioned at a location of the first patch 252 and the second patch254.

During a first procedure, actuation and/or movement of the substratestage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, or both, effects contactbetween the tip 12 and a substrate 18 disposed on the fixture 108, suchthat debris 20 is transferred from the substrate 18 to the tip 12.During a second procedure, actuation and/or movement of the substratestage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, or both, effects contactbetween the tip 12 and the collection pocket or the collectionthrough-hole of the first patch 252, thereby transferring debris 20 fromthe tip 12 to the collection pocket or the collection through-hole ofthe first patch 252. In one aspect, the actuation and/or movement of thetip 12 relative to the collection pocket or the collection through-holeof the first patch 252 may following a predetermined trajectory as willbe described in further detail below with references to FIGS. 33 and 34.During a third procedure, actuation and/or movement of the substratestage assembly 110 directs and trains each of the energy source 204 andthe energy detector 206 onto the collection through-hole of the firstpatch 252, such that an incident energy beam 208 from the energy source204 is incident upon the patch 252, and a sample energy beam 210emanating from the patch 252 is incident up on the energy detector 206.

Turning to FIGS. 20A and 20B, the energy detector 206 may be coupled tothe controller 136, such that the controller 136 receives the outputsignal from the energy detector 206 in response to the sample energybeam. The controller 136 may be configured to analyze the output signalfrom the energy detector 206 in response to the sample energy beam 210and identify one or more material attributes of the collection pocket orthe collection through-hole of the first patch 252, or debris disposedon the collection pocket or the collection through-hole of the firstpatch 252. Optionally, the energy source 204 may operative be coupled tothe controller 136 of FIGS. 20A and 20B, such that the controller 136may control attributes of the incident energy beam 208 that is generatedby the energy source 204, such as, but not limited to an intensity ofthe incident energy beam 208, a frequency of the incident energy beam208, or both. In one aspect, a direction of the energy source 204, thesample energy beam 210, and/or the energy detector 206 may be adjustedin response to the output signal from the energy detector 206.

Referring now to FIGS. 21A and 21B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 21Aillustrates a top view of a debris collection and metrology apparatus260, according to an aspect of the disclosure, and FIG. 21B illustratesa side view of a debris collection and metrology apparatus 260,according to an aspect of the disclosure. Similar to the debriscollection and metrology apparatus 200 and 250, illustrated in FIGS.15-20, the debris collection and metrology apparatus 260 includes asubstrate support assembly 102, a tip support assembly 104, a base 106,and a metrology system 202. However, in the debris collection andmetrology apparatus 260, the tip support assembly 104 further includes arobot 262.

The robot 262 may include a motor 264 and a robotic arm 266. A proximalend of the robotic arm 266 may operatively be coupled to the base 106via a motor 264, and the tip stage assembly 130 may operatively becoupled to a distal end of the robotic arm 266, such that operation ofthe motor 264 effects relative motion between the tip 12 and the base106. According to an aspect of the disclosure, operation of the motor264 effects rotational motion of the tip 12 relative to the base 106about a rotational axis 268 of the robot 262.

The metrology system 202 includes a patch 252 and may include ametrology stage assembly 270 to support the patch 252. Alternatively,the patch 252 may be supported directly on or by the base 106, absent ametrology stage assembly 270. The metrology stage assembly 270 may beconfigured to effect relative motion between the patch 252 and the base106 in translation along the x-direction 112, in translation along they-direction 114, in translation along the z-direction 116, in rotationabout the x-direction 112, in rotation about the y-direction 114, inrotation about the z-direction 116, combinations thereof, or any otherrelative motion known in the art. Further, the metrology stage assembly270 may embody any of the structures or attributes described previouslyfor the substrate stage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, orboth.

In FIGS. 21A and 21B, the robotic arm 266 is shown in a first position,such that the tip 12 is located proximal to the fixture 108. When therobotic arm 266 is located in the first position, motion of thesubstrate stage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, or both, issufficient to effect contact between the tip 12 and a substrate 18mounted to the fixture 108. Accordingly, when the robotic arm 266 islocated in its first position, the debris collection and metrologyapparatus 260 may effect a transfer of debris 20 from the substrate 18to the tip 12.

In FIGS. 22A and 22B, the robotic arm 266 is shown in a second position,such that the tip 12 is located proximal to a metrology system 202. Whenthe robotic arm 266 is located in its second position, motion of the tipstage assembly 130, or combined motion of the tip stage assembly 130 andthe metrology stage assembly 270, is sufficient to effect contactbetween the tip 12 and the patch 252. Accordingly, when the robotic arm266 is located in the second position, the debris collection andmetrology apparatus 270 may effect a transfer of debris 20 from the tip12 to the patch 252. In accordance with an aspect of the presentdisclosure, the patch 252 may include or be configured as a collectionpocket or collection through-hole for collecting debris or contaminatefrom the tip 12, as will be described in further detail with referenceto FIGS. 30-37. Although not shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B, the debriscollection and metrology apparatus 270 may include an energy source 204and an energy detector 206 directed towards and trained on the patch252, similar or identical to those illustrated in FIGS. 17A and 17B toperform metrology analysis on the patch 252, debris 20 disposed on thepatch 252, or both.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, any one or more of the robot262, the substrate stage assembly 110, the tip stage assembly 130, andthe metrology stage assembly 270 in the debris collection and metrologyapparatus 260 may operatively be coupled to the controller 136 forcontrol thereof. Accordingly, the controller 136 may be configured toactuate the robot 262 to switch configurations between theaforementioned first position shown in FIGS. 21A and 21B and the secondposition shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B.

Referring now to FIGS. 23A and 23B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 23Aillustrates a bottom view of a tip support assembly 104, according to anaspect of the disclosure, and FIG. 23B illustrates a partialcross-sectional side view of a tip support assembly 104 taken alongsection line 23B-23B according to an aspect of the disclosure. The tipsupport assembly 104 illustrated in FIGS. 23A and 23B may be especiallysuited for integration into the robotic arm 266, as shown in FIGS. 21A,21B, 22A and 22B. However, it will be appreciated that the tip supportassembly 104 may be advantageously incorporated into other debriscollection and/or metrology systems to satisfy particular needs, as willbe appreciated by one skilled in the art in view of the presentdisclosure.

The tip support assembly 104 illustrated in FIGS. 23A and 23B includes az-actuator 280, a camera 282, or both, however, it will be appreciatedthat the tip support assembly 104 may embody any other structures orattributes previously discussed for tip support assemblies, not limitedto means for translational motion along the x-direction 112 or they-direction 114, as well as rotational motion about any of thex-direction 112, the y-direction 114, and the z-direction 116.

A proximal end of the z-actuator 280 may operatively be coupled to therobotic arm 266, and a distal end of the z-actuator 280 may operativelybe coupled to the tip 12 via the tip cantilever 132, the camera 282, orboth. Accordingly, operation of the z-actuator 280 effects relativemotion between the tip 12, the camera 282, or both along the z-direction116. The z-actuator 280 may include a rotary motor and a screwstructure, a linear servo-motor structure, a pneumatic or hydraulicpiston structure, a piezoelectric structure, or any other linearactuator structure known in the art.

It will be appreciated that the z-actuator 280 may operatively becoupled to the controller 136 to control a relative motion between therobotic arm 266 and the tip 12, the camera 282, or both. Further thecamera 282 may also be coupled to the controller 136 to provide imagesof a substrate proximate to the tip 12 to a user display, a machinevision algorithm for control of the tip 12, or both.

Referring now to FIGS. 24A and 24B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 24Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, which may be thesame or a similar the metrology system 202 previously described withreference to FIGS. 15-20, although it will be appreciated by one skilledin the art that the metrology system 202 of FIGS. 24A and 24B may berepresentative of other systems including at least a tip 12, a tip stageassembly 13, an energy source 204, and an energy detector 206. FIG. 24Billustrates a side view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure. The structure of the metrology system 202illustrated in FIGS. 24A and 24B may be applicable to the debriscollection and metrology apparatus 200 illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16,where metrology procedures are performed directly on the tip 12, debris20 disposed on the tip 12, or both. However, it will be appreciated thatthe metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 24A and 24B may beadvantageously applicable to other metrology systems and apparatus. Inone aspect, the specific tip 12 shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B may include atetrahedral shape. As shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, the tip 12 with thetetrahedral shape is free of any debris 20. Accordingly, the metrologysystem 202 may be used to analyze attributes of the tip 12 absent anydebris 20 attached to the tip 12.

The energy source 204 may be directed towards and trained on the tip 12,such that an incident energy beam 208 generated by the energy source 204is incident upon the tip 12, and the energy detector 206 may be directedtowards and trained on the tip 12, such that a sample energy beam 210generated in response to the incident energy beam 208 on the tip 12 isreceived by the energy detector 206. The tip stage assembly 130 mayoperatively be coupled to the tip 12, such that the tip stage assembly130 may move the tip 12 relative to the energy source 204, the energydetector 206, or both, in translation along or rotation about any of thex-direction 112, the y-direction 114, and the z-direction 116. Accordingto an aspect of the disclosure, the tip stage assembly 130 is configuredto at least rotate the tip 12 about a tip longitudinal axis 284extending through the tip 12. According to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, the tip 12 specifically illustrated in FIGS. 24A and 24Bincludes a tetrahedral shape.

The tip stage assembly 130, the energy source 204, the energy detector206, or combinations thereof, may operatively be coupled to thecontroller 136 for control thereof. Accordingly, the controller 136 mayselectively direct the incident energy beam 208 onto different surfacesof the tip 12 by actuating the tip stage assembly 130, and thecontroller 136 may receive one or more signals from the energy detector206 that are indicative of an attribute of the resulting sample energybeam 210. As shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, the tip 12 may be free of anydebris 20. Accordingly, the metrology system 202 may be used to analyzeattributes of the tip 12 absent any debris 20 attached to the tip 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 25A and 25B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 25Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, and FIG. 25Billustrates a side view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure. The metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS.25A and 25B may embody any of the structures or attributes described forthe metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. FIGS. 15-20, 24A and 24B.However, the metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B showsdebris 20 attached to the tip 12 with the tetrahedral shape.Accordingly, the metrology system 202 may be used to analyze attributesof the tip 12, debris 20 attached to the tip 12, or both.

Referring now to FIGS. 26A and 26B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 26Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, and FIG. 26Billustrates a side view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure. The metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS.26A and 26B may embody any of the structures or attributes of themetrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 24A and 24B. However, unlikeFIGS. 24A and 24B, the specific tip 12 illustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26Bincludes a circular conical shape. As shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B, thetip 12 with the circular conical shape is free of any debris 20.Accordingly, the metrology system 202 may be used to analyze attributesof the tip 12 absent any debris 20 attached to the tip 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 27A and 27B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 27Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, and FIG. 27Billustrates a side view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure. The metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS.27A and 27B may embody any of the structures or attributes described forthe metrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 26A and 26B. However, themetrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 27A and 27B shows debris 20attached to the tip 12 with the circular conical shape. Accordingly, themetrology system 202 may be used to analyze attributes of the tip 12,debris 20 attached to the tip 12, or both.

Referring now to FIGS. 28A and 28B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 28Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure, and FIG. 28B illustrates a side view of ametrology system 202, according to an aspect of the disclosure. Themetrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 28A and 28B may embody any ofthe structures or attributes of the metrology system 202 illustrated inFIGS. 24A and 24B. However, unlike FIGS. 24A and 24B, the specific tip12 illustrated in FIGS. 28A and 28B includes a pyramidal shape. As shownin FIGS. 28A and 28B, the tip 12 with the pyramidal shape is free of anydebris 20. Accordingly, the metrology system 202 may be used to analyzeattributes of the tip 12 absent any debris 20 attached to the tip 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 29A and 29B, it will be appreciated that FIG. 29Aillustrates a bottom view of a metrology system 202, according to anaspect of the disclosure, and FIG. 29B illustrates a side view of ametrology system 202, according to an aspect of the disclosure. Themetrology system 202 illustrated in FIGS. 29A and 29B may embody any ofthe structures or attributes described for the metrology system 202illustrated in FIGS. 28A and 28B. However, the metrology system 202illustrated in FIGS. 29A and 29B shows debris 20 attached to the tip 12with the pyramidal shape. Accordingly, the metrology system 202 may beused to analyze attributes of the tip 12, debris 20 attached to the tip12, or both.

Turning to FIGS. 30-37, exemplary contaminate collectors with acollection pocket or a collection through-hole will now be described.Referring now to FIGS. 30A and 30B, FIG. 30A illustrates across-sectional side view (taken at 30A-30A of FIG. 30B) of acontaminate collector 30 for collecting contaminate samples 33 from atip 12, and the tip 12 may be the same or similar to those previouslydescribed with respect to exemplary debris detection and collectionsystems. The contaminate samples 33 may include one or more pieces ofdebris or particles 20 described above. The contaminate collector 30 maydefine a collection pocket 32 including at least three sidewalls 34extending from a first upper surface 36 to a second upper surface 38.The height (h) of the sidewalls 34 may be selected such that at least aportion of the tip 12 may be inserted into a depth of the collectionpocket 32. In one aspect, the height (h) of the sidewalls 34, whichdefines the depth of the collection pocket 32, may be between 25% to200% a length (L) of the tip 12. In one aspect, the height (h) of thesidewalls may be selected to promote refraction for spectroscopy toanalyze the contaminate samples 33 that may be deposited in or on thecontaminate collector 30.

In one aspect, an intersection between the first upper surface 36 andthe sidewalls 34 forms a first set of internal edges, and anintersection between the second upper surface 38 and the sidewalls 34forms a second set of internal edges. The sidewalls 34 may define atleast one internal surface extending from the first upper surface 36 tothe second upper surface 38. In one aspect, an irradiation source, suchas the energy source 204 described above, may be configured and arrangedto direct an incident irradiation onto the internal surface or surfacesof the contaminate collector 30. In one aspect, an irradiation detector,such as the energy detector 206 described above, may be configured andarranged to receive a sample irradiation from the one or more internalsurfaces of the contaminate collector 30, the sample irradiation beinggenerated by the incident irradiation being directed onto and reflectback from onto the one or more internal surface or surfaces of thecontaminate collector 30.

As shown in FIG. 30B, the three sidewalls 34, and the correspondingfirst internal edge, may form an equilateral triangle outline whenviewed from the top. Each set of adjacent sidewalls 34 may form a set ofcontaminate collection edges 35. In one aspect, a tip 12 having atetrahedral shape may be used with the contaminate collector 30 of FIGS.30A and 30B. One or more edges 13 of the tip 12 may be maneuvered near,adjacent to, brushed against, or dragged against the one or morecontaminate collection edges 35 of the collection pocket 32 such thatcontaminate samples 33 may be transferred from the tip 12 to thecollection pocket 32. In select aspects, the contaminate collector 30may include three sidewalls 34 that form a non-equilateral triangularoutline (e.g., isosceles, scalene, acute-angled, right-angled, orobtuse-angled triangles) when viewed from the top. The non-equilateraltriangular cross-section define the contaminate collection edges 35 thatare non-equal and may therefore be adapted to extract contaminatesamples 33 from tips of various sizes and/or shapes, as will beappreciated by one skilled in the art in view of the present disclosure.In one aspect, each edge of the contaminate collection edges 35 may havea length of less than or equal to 10 mm to reduce the amount of travelneeded for the tip 12 to transfer contaminate samples 33 to thecollection pocket 32, particularly when the contaminate samples 33 arenanometer level structures.

Referring now to FIGS. 31A and 31B, FIG. 31A illustrates across-sectional side view (taken at 31A-31A of FIG. 31B) of acontaminate collector 30 for collecting contaminate samples 33 from atip 12, and the tip 12 may be the same or similar to those previouslydescribed with respect to exemplary debris detection and collectionsystems. The contaminate collector 30 may define a collection pocket 32including sidewalls 34 extending from a first upper surface 36 to asecond upper surface 38. The height (h) of the sidewalls 34 may beselected such that at least a portion of the tip 12 may be inserted intoa depth of the collection pocket 32. In one aspect, the height (h) ofthe sidewalls 34, which defines the depth of the collection pocket, maybe between 25% to 200% a length (L) of the tip 12. In one aspect, theheight (h) of the sidewalls may be selected to promote refraction forspectroscopy to analyze the contaminate samples 33 that may be depositedin or on the contaminate collector 30.

In one aspect, as shown in FIG. 31B, the contaminate collector 30 mayinclude a cylindrical sidewall 34 forming a circular outline when viewfrom the top. A contaminate collection internal edge 35 may be formed atan intersection between the first upper surface 36 and the sidewall 34.In one aspect, a tip 12 having a circular conical shape may be used withthe contaminate collector 30 of FIGS. 31A and 31B. A surface of theconical tip 12 may be maneuvered near, adjacent to, brushed against, ordragged against the contaminate collection edge 35 of the collectionpocket 32 such that contaminate samples 33 may be transferred from thetip 12 to the collection pocket 32. In select aspects, the contaminatecollector 30 may include a sidewall 34 that defines an oval orelliptical outline when viewed from the top, and may therefore beadapted to extract contaminate samples 33 from tips of various sizesand/or shapes, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art in viewof the present disclosure. In one aspect, a diameter of the contaminatecollection edge 35 may be less than 10 mm wide. In select aspects, thediameter of the contaminate collection edge 35 may be less than or equalto 500 microns wide to reduce the amount of travel needed for the tip 12to transfer contaminate samples 33 to the collection pocket 32,particularly when the contaminate samples 33 are nanometer levelstructures.

Referring now to FIGS. 32A and 32B, FIG. 32A illustrates across-sectional side view (taken at 32A-32A of FIG. 32B) of acontaminate collector 30 for collecting contaminate samples 33 from atip 12, and the tip 12 may be the same or similar to those previouslydescribed with respect to exemplary debris detection and collectionsystems. The contaminate collector 30 may define a collection pocket 32including sidewalls 34 extending from a first upper surface 36 to asecond upper surface 38. The height (h) of the sidewalls 34 may beselected such that at least a portion of the tip 12 may be inserted intoa depth of the collection pocket 32. In one aspect, the height (h) ofthe sidewalls 34, which defines the depth of the collection pocket, maybe between 25% to 200% a length (L) of the tip 12. In one aspect, theheight (h) of the sidewalls may be selected to promote refraction forspectroscopy to analyze the contaminate samples 33 that may be depositedin or on the contaminate collector 30.

In one aspect, as shown in FIG. 32B, the contaminate collector 30 mayinclude four sidewalls 34 forming a rectangular or square outline whenview from the top. Each set of adjacent sidewalls 34 may form acontaminate collection internal edge 35. In one aspect, a tip 12 havinga pyramidal shape may be used with the contaminate collector 30 of FIGS.32A and 32B. One or more edges 13 of the tip 12 may be maneuvered near,adjacent to, brushed against, or dragged against one or more collectioninternal edges 35 of the collection pocket 32 such that contaminatesamples 33 may be transferred from the tip 12 to the collection pocket32. In one aspect, each edge of the contaminate collection edges 35 mayhave a length of less than or equal to 10 mm to reduce the amount oftravel needed for the tip 12 to transfer contaminate samples 33 to thecollection pocket 32, particularly when the contaminate samples 33 arenanometer level structures.

Although particular parings of tip and collection pocket 32 shapes arediscussed above in reference to FIGS. 30A, 30B, 31A, 31B, 32A and 32B,it will be appreciated that any combination of tips 12 and collectionpocket 32 shapes may be utilized together or interchangeably. Forexample, the conical tip 12 of FIGS. 31A and 31B may be used with thetriangular collection pocket 32 of FIGS. 30A and 30B. Additionally,although exemplary triangular, rectangular and circular contaminatecollectors are shown in FIGS. 30-32, contaminate collectors with five ormore sidewalls may also be used.

Turning to FIGS. 33A to 33C, an exemplary process of maneuvering the tip12 and transferring contaminate samples 33 from a tip 12 to thecontaminate collector 30, such as those described above with referenceto FIGS. 30-32, will now be described. It will be appreciated thatsimilar step may also be applied for transferring contaminate samples toa contaminate collector 40, as generally described with reference FIGS.35-37. As shown in FIG. 33A, a tip 12 may first be positioned centrallyabove an opening of the collection pocket 32 in the x- and y-directions.The tip 12 may then be lowered at least partially in the z-directioninto the collection pocket 32 without contacting the sidewalls 34 of thecollection pocket 32. Next, as shown in FIG. 33B, the tip 12 may then bemaneuvered towards one of the sidewalls 34 in the x- and/ory-directions. The tip 12 may simultaneously be maneuvered upward in thez-direction such that contaminate samples 33 may brush against or comein close contact with a contaminate collection edge 35 of the collectionpocket 32, whereby contaminate samples 33 may be transferred from thetip 12 to at least a side portion of the contaminate collection edge 35.

In one aspect, the travel of the tip 12 from the position shown in FIG.33A to FIG. 33B may be defined as a quadratic function such that the tip12 moves towards and past the contaminate collection edge 35 via aparabolic trajectory, a scraping motion and/or wiping motion. The tip 12may continue to travel upward and to the right of the contaminatecollection edge 35, from the position shown in FIG. 33B, before beingmaneuvered back to a starting position as shown in FIG. 33A. In oneaspect, the travel of the tip 12 may be defined as a linear functiondepending on the size and shape of the tip 12 and the collection pocket32. Other trajectories and travel paths for the tip 12 will beappreciated by those skilled in the art in view of the presentdisclosure.

Additionally or alternatively, as shown in FIG. 34A to FIG. 34C, the tip12 may initially be positioned above and offset from a center of thecollection pocket 32 in the x- and y-directions. The tip 12 may then bemoved downward in the z-direction while also being moved towards thecenter of the collection pocket 32 in the x- and/or y-directions untilat least a portion of the tip 12 is located at least partially withinthe collection pocket 32. In moving the tip 12 into the collectionpocket 32, contaminate samples 33 may brush against or come in closecontact with the contaminate collection edge 35 of the collection pocket32, whereby contaminate samples 33 are transferred from the tip 12 to atleast a top portion of the contaminate collection edge 35.

In one aspect, the travel of the tip 12 from the position shown in FIG.34A to FIG. 34C may be defined as a quadratic function such that the tip12 moves towards and past the contaminate collection edge 35 via aparabolic trajectory, a scraping motion and/or wiping motion. In oneaspect, the travel of the tip 12 may be defined as a linear functiondepending on the size and shape of the tip 12 and the collection pocket32. Other trajectories and travel paths for the tip 12 will beappreciated by those skilled in the art in view of the presentdisclosure.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the above tip maneuversof FIGS. 33A-33C and/or 34A-34C may be repeated such that the tip 12contacts different portions of the contaminate collection edge 35. Forexample, where the contaminate collection edge 35 has a circulargeometry, as described above with reference to FIGS. 31A and 31B, thetip 12 may be maneuvered to contact the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clocklocations of the contaminate collection edge 35 (based on a top vieworientation shown in FIG. 31B) in order to transfer contaminate samples33 from different corresponding portions of the tip 12. In view of thepresent disclosure, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the artthat the tip, maneuver may be repeated to contact additional portions orall portions of the contaminate collection edge 35. In one aspect, thetip 12 may be maneuvered to transfer contaminate samples 33 from the tip12 to the contaminate collection edge 35 by brushing against or comingin close contact with a contaminate collection edge 35 at the 12o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock locations. By collectingcontaminate samples 33 at different locations on the contaminatecollection edge 35, compositions of collected contaminate samplesderived from different portions of the tip 12 can be determined bydefining the metrology location at different corresponding portions ofthe contaminate collection edge 35.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the above tip maneuversof FIGS. 33A-33C and/or 34A-34C may be repeated such that differentportions of the tip 12 may contact or come in close contact with a samelocation of the contaminate collection edge 35, thereby depositing allor most of the contaminate samples 33 from the tip 12 to the samelocation on the contaminate collection edge 35. For example, the tip 12may be rotated about the z-axis after transferring contaminate samples33 to the contaminate collection edge 35, as shown in FIG. 33B or 34B,and successively maneuvered to pass a same common location on thecontaminate collection edge 35. Additionally, or alternatively, thecontaminate collection edge 35, as shown in FIG. 33B or 34B, may berotated about the z-axis after transferring contaminate samples 33 fromthe tip 12 to the contaminate collection edge 35. Furthermore, inaddition to the collection pockets 32 and collection through-holes 46described in the present disclosure (which have collection edges thatcompletely encircle a tip 12), a collection edge or a set of collectionedges that do not completely encircle the tip 12 may also be used. Forexample, the collection edge may consist of a single linear edge or asingle C-shaped edge. In one aspect, where a set of collection edges isused, the collection edges together may encircle less than 75% of thetip 12, and in select aspects, the collection edges together mayencircle less than 50% of the tip 12. By collecting contaminate samples33 at the same common location on the contaminate collection edge 35, anentire composition of the collected contaminate samples 33 from the tip12 can be determined by defining the common location on the contaminatecollection edge 35 as the metrology location.

In one aspect, the above tip maneuvers of FIGS. 33A-33 C and/or 34A-34Cmay be combined and used successively such that an upward and laterallyoutward motion may be followed by a downward and laterally inwardmotion, or vice versa, to transfer contaminate samples 33 from the tip12 to the contaminate collection edge 35. The successive motions mayassist in improving the speed of collecting contaminate samples 33 fromthe tip 12.

Turning to FIGS. 35-37, exemplary contaminate collectors with acollection through-hole will now be described. Referring now to FIGS.35A and 35B, FIG. 35A illustrates a cross-sectional view (taken at35A-35A of FIG. 35B) of a contaminate collector 40 for collectingcontaminate samples 33 from a tip 12, and the tip 12 may be the same orsimilar to those previously described with respect to exemplary debrisdetection and collection systems of the present disclosure. Thecontaminate collector 40 may include at least a stand 42 and a platform44, and the platform 44 may include an internal cut out having asidewall 45 to define a collection through-hole 46. In one aspect, theplatform 44 may include an upper surface 47 and a lower surface 48, andthe sidewall 45 may extend from the upper surface 47 to the lowersurface 48. A collection lip edge 49 may be defined at an intersectionbetween the sidewall 45 and the upper surface 47. The stand 42 and theplatform 44 may be fixed together, or they may be provided as separatecomponents.

In one aspect the contaminate collector 40 may be transported from onelocation to another, particularly when the collection and metrologysystems are separate units, are not integrated together, and/or are notlocated in the same location. The contaminate collector 40, or theplatform 44 individually, may be moved from the collection system to themetrology system for analysis of the collected contaminate samples 33.

As shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B, the sidewall 45 of the contaminatecollector may be beveled such that the collection through-hole 46narrows in a direction towards a tip entry location. In accordance withan aspect of the present disclosure, the sidewall 45 may be beveled suchthat the through-hole 46 defines a truncated tetrahedron passage with agenerally triangular outline when viewed from above, as shown in FIG.35B. In operation, as shown in FIGS. 35A and 35B, a tetrahedron shapedtip 12 may be positioned to enter the collection through-hole 46 of thecontaminate collector 40 from above in the z-direction. The tip 12 maybe maneuvered at least downwardly in the z-direction to enter into thecollection through-hole 46. Once at least a portion of the tip 12 hasentered into the through-hole 46, the tip 12 may then be maneuveredlaterally in an x- and/or y-directions towards sidewall 45 and thecollection lip edge 49 of the contaminate collector 40. While movinglaterally, the tip 12 may simultaneously be maneuvered upward in thez-direction such that contaminate samples 33 may brush against or comein close contact with the collection lip edge 49 and/or the sidewall 45,whereby contaminate samples 33 are transferred from the tip 12 to thecollection lip edge 49 and/or the sidewall 45. The trajectory and travelof the tip 12 may be the same or similar to those described above withreference to FIGS. 33A-33C.

Additionally, or alternatively, contaminate samples 33 may be removedfrom the tip 12 by initially positioning the tip 12 above the collectionthrough-hole 46 of the contaminate collector 40 in the z-direction andoffset from a center of the through-hole 46 in the x- and/ory-directions. The tip 12 may then be moved downward in the z-directionwhile also being moved towards the center of the through-hole 46 in thex- and/or y-directions until at least a portion of the tip 12 is locatedat least partially within the through-hole 46. In moving the tip 12 inthe through-hole 46, contaminate samples 33 may brush against or come inclose contact with the collection lip edge 49 of the through-hole 46,whereby contaminate samples 33 are transferred from the tip 12 to atleast a top portion of the collection lip edge 49. The trajectory andtravel of the tip 12 may be the same or similar to those described abovewith reference to FIGS. 34A-34C.

Similar to FIGS. 35A and 35B, the contaminate collector 40 of FIGS. 36Aand 36B may include at least a stand 42 and a platform 44. However,unlike FIGS. 35A and 35B where the sidewalls 45 define a through-hole 46with a truncated tetrahedron passage, the platform 44 of FIGS. 36A and36B includes an internal cutout having a sidewall 45 that defines atruncated conical passage, including circular, oval, and ellipticalconical passages. In operation, the removal of contaminate samples 33from the tip 12 would follow the same procedure as described above withreference to FIGS. 35A and 35B, with the through-hole 46 being replacedwith the truncated conical passage.

Similar to FIGS. 36A and 36B, the contaminate collector 40 of FIGS. 37Aand 37B may include at least a stand 42 and a platform 44. However,unlike FIGS. 36A and 36B where the sidewall 45 defines a through-hole 46with a truncated conical passage, the platform 44 of FIGS. 37A and 37Bincludes an internal cutout having a plurality of sidewalls 45 to definea collection through-hole 46. In accordance with an aspect of thepresent disclosure, the platform 44 may be provided with four sidewalls45 to define a through-hole 46 with a truncated pyramidal passage. Inoperation, the removal of contaminate samples 33 from the tip 12 wouldfollow the same procedure as described above with reference to FIGS. 35Aand 35B, with the through-hole 46 being replaced with the truncatedpyramidal passage.

Although truncated tetrahedron passage, truncated conical passages, andtruncated pyramidal passages are described above with reference to FIGS.35-37, other passage shapes for the through-hole 46 are contemplated,and the passage shapes may be selected based on a corresponding shape ofthe tip 12, including non-uniform shapes and where the through-hole mayhave three or more sidewalls. Of course, it would be apparent to oneskilled in the art that other shapes and sizes of tips may be utilizedwith the contaminate collectors 40 of FIGS. 35-37.

The collection pockets 32 of FIGS. 30-32 and/or the contaminatecollectors 40 of FIGS. 35-37 may be usable together with the debriscollection apparatus 100 of FIGS. 12-23 as described above, or they maybe examined using a contamination analysis system 500 of FIG. 38,separate from the tip 12 and the associated actuation and controlmechanisms. The collection pockets 32 of FIGS. 30-32 and/or thecontaminate collectors 40 of FIGS. 35-37 may be used to collect debriswhile mounted at a first location, removed, transported to a secondlocation, analyzed in a debris detection process, cleaned, and reused,as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art in view of the presentdisclosure.

As shown in FIG. 38, the contamination analysis system 500 may includean energy source 50 and an energy detector 52. When a contaminatecollector 40 is ready to be examined or analyzed, the contaminatecollector 40 may be placed or mounted onto the stand 42. The energysource 50 and the energy detector 52 may be co-located in a single unit,or they may be provided in separate units. The energy source 50 and theenergy detector 52 may each be coupled to one or more actuators in orderto move the energy source 50 and the energy detector 52 in one or moreof the x-, y-, and z-directions, and/or rotate the energy source 50 andthe energy detector 52 about the x-, y-, and z-directions. The energysource 50 and the energy detector 52 may be located above, below, orside-by-side with the contaminate collector 40 such that the energysource 50 and the energy detector 52 are operable to be trained on thecollection lip edge 49 or the sidewall 45 of the contaminate collector40.

During or after a contamination collection process whereby contaminatesamples 33 are collected on the collection lip edge 49 and/or thesidewall 45 of the contaminate collector 40, the energy source 50 may bedirected towards and trained on the collection lip edge 49 and/or thesidewall 45, such that an incident energy beam 51 generated by theenergy source 50 is incident upon the lip edge 49 and/or the sidewall45, and the energy detector 52 may be directed towards and trained onthe lip edge 49 and/or the sidewall 45, such that a sample energy beam53 generated in response to the incident energy beam 51 on the lip edge49 and/or the sidewall 45 is received by the energy detector 52.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the energy source 50, theenergy detector 52, or combinations thereof, may operatively be coupledto a controller 56 for control thereof. Accordingly, the controller 56may selectively aim and direct the incident energy beam 51 from theenergy source 50 onto different surfaces of the lip edge 49 and/or thesidewall 45 by one or more actuators associated with the energy source50. The controller 56 may further selectively aim and the energydetector 52 towards the different surfaces being exposed by the incidentenergy beam 51 in order to receive the sample energy beam 53 generatedin response to the incident energy beam 51. The controller 56 mayreceive one or more signals from the energy detector 52 that areindicative of an attribute of the resulting sample energy beam 53.

The many features and advantages of the present disclosure are apparentfrom the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by theappended claims to cover all such features and advantages of theinvention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.It is understood that the various aspects of the present disclosure maybe combined and used together. Further, since numerous modifications andvariations will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in viewof the present disclosure, it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction and operation illustrated and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for determining a composition of aparticle using a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tip, the methodcomprising: picking up and transferring the particle to the SPM tip,wherein the SPM tip is configured to facilitate the particle pick-up;irradiating the particle on the SPM tip with a first incidentirradiation from an irradiation source; detecting a first sampleirradiation from the particle caused by the first incident irradiationwith an irradiation detector; identifying one or more materialattributes from the detection to determine the composition of theparticle; and effecting relative motion between the SPM tip and at leastone of the irradiation source and the irradiation detector based on afirst signal from the irradiation detector in response to the firstsample irradiation.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:generating a first frequency domain spectrum of the first sampleirradiation based on the first signal, and generating a second frequencydomain spectrum by subtracting a background frequency domain spectrumfrom the first frequency domain spectrum, and effecting relative motionbetween the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiation source and theirradiation detector based on the second frequency domain spectrum. 3.The method of claim 2, further comprising generating the backgroundfrequency domain spectrum based on a response of the irradiationdetector to irradiation of the SPM tip when the SPM tip is substantiallyfree from contamination.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:irradiating the SPM tip with a second incident irradiation from theirradiation source; detecting a second sample irradiation caused by thesecond incident irradiation with the irradiation detector; and effectingrelative motion between the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiationsource and the irradiation detector based on a second signal from theirradiation detector in response to the second sample irradiation. 5.The method of claim 4, further comprising effecting relative motionbetween the SPM tip and at least one of the irradiation source and theirradiation detector based on a difference between the second signal andthe first signal.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first incidentirradiation from the irradiation source is at least one of an x-ray,visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, an electron beam, anda laser.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the second incidentirradiation from the irradiation source is at least one of an x-ray,visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, an electron beam, anda laser.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second incidentirradiation is a different type of irradiation than the first incidentirradiation.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sampleirradiation is generated by the first incident irradiation interactingwith the SPM tip.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sampleirradiation is generated by the first incident irradiation interactingwith debris disposed on the SPM tip.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising adjusting an intensity or frequency of the first incidentirradiation from the irradiation source.
 12. The method of claim 4,further comprising adjusting an intensity or frequency of the secondincident irradiation from the irradiation source.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the irradiation is carried out on the particle on theSPM tip in the SPM with a first incident irradiation from an irradiationsource.